The Beginning of the N
by Linda Cicada
Summary: N has been crowned the King of Team Plasma. He now sets off on his journey to awaken Reshiram and win the Pokemon league, with his sisters, Anthea and Concordia tagging along to help him.
1. Chapter 1: Coronation

Two sisters walked in unison, both with big smiles on their faces. They were clearly excited about something. One of them had long, flowy, pink hair and was wearing a long, white dress with a big pink stripe that went diagonally from the top to the bottom. She also had a pair of bracelets, one on each wrist. They were black on the sides, and white in the center. The other girl had blonde hair, with a very long ponytail. She wore a long dress that was yellow on the sides, and the rest white, and also had bracelets on both of her hands. Her bracelets were square shaped and golden, and she wore two on each hand. They seemed to be dressed for a special occasion. They entered a room that looked as a childs play room.

In the room, a soft lullaby could be heard, but there was no sign of anything playing the music. There was a toy train set on the floor that somehow moved by itself, a basketball hoop and a basketball on the floor right next to it, a toy airplane in the air, which, like the train, somehow moved on its own, and a skateboard ramp. Sounds pretty big for a playroom. There was also a bed, and in that bed was a boy with long flowy, light green hair. He was sleeping, and there was a Pokemon sleeping next to his head. The Pokemon looked somewhat like a fox cub, and had pitch black fur, with a dark red tint. The Pokemon is known as Zorua. The two girls gasped in shock. They couldn't believe their eyes. Their brother was actually oversleeping on the day of his coronation.

"He's seriously oversleeping on his big day...?" asked one of the girls ,twirling her hair in two of her fingers.

Her sister sighed "Even when he becomes king today, he's still a child at heart. We're gonna have to wake him up" she said.

They both walked over to his bed and shook him slightly.

He slowly opened his eyes.

"Anthea, Concordia..." he mumbled, then let out a yawn.

"Wake up sleeping beauty, today is the big day!" Anthea (the pink one) said, giggling.

"How could you possibly oversleep today of all days? You've been waiting for this day for 12 years!" exclaimed Concordia (the blonde one), crossing her arms.

"I...uh...had a dream." he said, rubbing his eyes.

"You were dreaming? About what?" asked Anthea with a crooked eyebrow. He was about to tell, but was interrupted by Concordia.

"It doesn't matter what he was dreaming about. N, get up and get dressed. You've already overslept, you need to be moving fast. Father will not be pleased if you are late, and...oh my god, your hair is a mess too!" she said, stroking the back of his hair gently.

He rolled his eyes, got up, and went to his bathroom to get dressed. Five minutes later, he came out, dressed in tan pants with a menger sponge on a chain, attached to his belt, a black shirt, a white shirt over the black one, and a cap which was black on the sides, top and tip, and white on the front. He also wore a necklace, which looked like a black sphere with blue and yellow spirals, and on his left wrist, he wore the same bracelet as Anthea, and on his right wrist, the same bracelet as Concordia. N looked around the room. He noticed that his sisters had left the room, and there was a tray with a bowl of cereal on his bed. Apparently he didn't have time to eat much. He sat down and began eating.

* * *

Anthea and Concordia stood near the fireplace in their fathers room. They had requested to get to talk to him before N's coronation, and they got their wish. Their father sat in a chair at his desk, waiting to hear what they had to say. He had green hair, and only one, red eye. The other eye was covered by a weird red device that looked somewhat like a scouter. He wore long robes, and the look on his face did not look very pleased. His name is Ghetsis.

"Speak." he commanded.

"Father..." Anthea spoke "We would like to go with N when he sets on his journey in the outside world."

"And why would I allow you to do that?" questioned Ghetsis.

"Well, the outside world is a dangerous place, and-"

"And you think he needs his big sisters around to protect him? The boy is 17 and today he will be our king! If he needs two girls leading him the way and acting as his bodyguard, then he is a pathetic excuse for a man!" exclaimed Ghetsis

"But Father, N has to win the Pokemon League to achieve our goal. If we go with him and collect all 8 badges, we can compete in the League too, and help eliminate the competition. That will surely guarantee that he wins. We can't afford to risk failure." explained Concordia.

"Hmm..." Ghetsis thought. "Very well then. You have my permission to go with him."

"Thank you father." they both said, then bowed and began to exit the room.

"I did not say you are excused"

They both turned around, shocked. "I have something you need to take with you." He pulled three Xtranceivers and a town map out of his desk and handed them to them. "You'll need these to stay in contact if you somehow get separated. I have already registered myself on all three xtranceivers. You'll also need the map to keep track of each city with a gym. Now you are excused." The two girls exited the room. They were very happy they got what they wanted.

"This is so exciting! We're going to get to see the outside world! N will be so surprised when he finds out we're going with him!" Anthea said happily. "It was weird how father already had three xtranceivers and the town map ready for us. It's like he already planned on us going with N." said Concordia. "Hmm, that is weird..." Anthea said, scratching her chin. "I wonder if he's ready for the coronation, it's going to start soon." They both entered N's room. N was sitting on his bed, talking to his Zorua. He was wearing white robes over his normal clothes. The only thing the robes didn't cover was his face. It looked like it would be a pain to walk in that.

"Are you okay, N?" asked Anthea, as she sat down next to N, stroking his hair.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?"

"You just...don't seem very excited. You've been waiting for this day for 12 years, and now its finally here. You're going to be our king! Why aren't you excited?"

"This isn't a game, Anthea. Humans treat Pokemon as tools. They are forced to do things they don't want to do simply for their owners on wishes. The biggest causes of this are Pokemon laboratories, and the Pokemon league. Pokemon are enslaved, examined, sold and and delivered for money by so called Pokemon professors that pretend to care about Pokemon, but all they care about is making money for their own good. Competitive trainers assault wild Pokemon with a Pokemon that they've already enslaved, and have them hurt each other then until they are unable to battle anymore, they enslave the wild Pokemon by capturing it in a tiny little ball that they will only be let out of to hurt another Pokemon. Why should Pokemon be forced out of their natural habitats to live such an awful life? Won't those Pokemon miss their families? If it weren't for the Pokemon league, people wouldn't have such a big motive to do such awful things to Pokemon. It is MY responsibility to change this gray world. I can not take such a huge responsibility lightly." he spoke so fast, it was hard to make out everything he said, but it was clear he was talking from his heart.

"N...you're gonna be a great king." Anthea said, embracing her brother.

Ghetsis stood to the side of the thrown, holding a crown high in the air. Six sages stood in front of the thrown, as Ghetsis began to speak.

"Whoever wears this crown is the king of this castle, thus, the king who rules over us all, Team Plasma. Now! Please come over to the throne!" Ghetsis shouted. All seven men in the room waited, eager to see the new heir come through the door and walk to the throne.

Within seconds, N stepped into the throne room, walking slowly over to the thrown. Anthea and Concordia were at his sides, walking with him. Once N got to the throne, three of the sages got to one side of the throne, and the other three to other side, and Anthea Concordia in front of the throne, several feet away. Ghetsis stood directly in front of him, and slowly placed the crown on his head.

"You're the king, N. Let us achieve it together: the liberation of Pokemon!" Ghetsis shouted. "All hail Lord N Harmonia!" shouted every voice in the room.

"And now that the new king has been crowned, it is time for a little celebration! There is a giant feast ready in the castle kitchen. I want you all to be there." Ghetsis said, as he left the throne room, the six sages following behind him.

"Come on N, we'll show you the way." said Concordia, as she and Anthea walked N down to the kitchen. N had never been allowed outside of his room until now, so all the rooms where new to him.

Once they got to the kitchen, N was amazed at what he saw. There were hundreds of Team Plasma Grunts seated at a giant table. The grunts were uniforms that looked sort of like knight armor, except, it wasn't steel. Their uniforms had a logo that had P on a background that was white on one side and back on the other, and a lightning bolt directly behind the P. It was the Team Plasma logo. Ghetsis and the sages sat closest to the head of the table.

When they noticed N enter, they all rose to their feet, and clapped and cheered. The sages walked over to him. They wore robes with They also wore big, pointy hats. They each had white hair, and some had big beards or mustaches, while some had no facial hair at all.

"Greetings, my lord!" they all said at once, shaking his hand one by one.

"I am Rood of the Seven Sages."

"I am Gorm of the Seven Sages."

"I am Giallo of the Seven Sages."

"I am Ryoko of the Seven Sages."

"I am Bronius of the Seven Sages."

"and I am Zinzolin of the Seven Sages. Your father is the seventh of the Sages, and also the head Sage."

"We are sure you will make a great king, my Lord. We will be of service to you whenever it is needed." said Rood, then he and the other sages went back to their seats.

N thought the introductions were finally over, but then three of the grunts made their way to him and began introducing themselves. Two were female and one was male.

"Greetings, my lord!" said a female grunt. She had orange, shoulder length hair and light blue eyes. She seemed to carry a sense of authority about herself. "My name is Angie, and I am the top ranked Team Plasma Grunt! I shall serve your orders with honor!" she said, placing her hand on her chest, apparently as a salute.

Then, the male grunt introduced himself. He had the exact same hair and eye color as Angie. Those two could possibly be siblings.

"Hello, my Lord! I am honored to finally meet you! I am Brad, second highest rated Team Plasma Grunt! I shall follow your every command, my Lord!" he saluted N in the same way as Angie.

Finally, the third grunt introduced herself to N. She had brown hair with loops that looked somewhat like big donuts on each side, and long streams of hair coming down from them.

"H-Hello, my Lord." she stuttered, blushing. She seemed to be a bit shy talking to her king for the first time. "I'm Mei, and I am the third top rated Team Plasma Grunt. Me, Angie, and Brad give commands to the other Grunts. It's great to finally get to see your face, my Lord.". She stopped, staring at the floor clearly embarrassed, then show bowed and the three grunts went back to their seats.

Now that all the introductions were finally over, Anthea and Concordia walked N over to his seat at the head of the table. While they walked, N couldn't help but stare at all the food on the table. There was turkey, steak, loafs of bread, pie, cake, countless different varieties of fruits and vegetables, and much more. It all smelled so good. Once N got to his seat, there was already food at his seat for him. It looked some of everything was on his plate, as well as a glass of iced tea. He sat down, and his sisters sat next to him.

Nobody had eaten anything yet and the entire kitchen had fell silent. N could tell they were waiting on him to do something. He picked up his glass, rose it in the air and shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Well, then...LET THE FEAST BEGIN!"

This caused a bunch of applauding and a roar of cheers from just about everyone there. Everybody then began eating.

Once the feast was over, N went back to his room, and threw off the ridiculous robe he had to wear to his coronation. Zorua jumped up from under his bed and licked his face.

"Hey, Zorua." N said. He fed Zorua some of the food from the feast, which it happily ate.

"Are you ready for adventure?. I am now the king of Team Plasma. I'm about to set off on my journey to save all Pokemon, but to do it, I'll need the help of a Pokemon. Are you willing to come with me? I will not force you into it if you don't want too."

"_Yes yes! Of course, N, without you, I'll be sad and lonely! Plus I'm willing to sacrifice my life if it will save all Pokemon that were treated the way I was before I was brought here to you!_" Zorua said, looking excited. N was born with the power to speak to Pokemon, so he understood what Zorua said perfectly.

"Thank you, Zorua. I promise I will keep you safe on our journey." N said, and put Zorua on his shoulder, then went to the bottom floor of the castle, ready to set off on his journey. He was shocked when he saw his sisters, at the door that led outside, waiting for his arrival. They had a Raltz and Gothita with them, and they were looking at a map.

"What are you two doing?" N asked, confused.

"Oh, N! You're finally ready! Now we can get going!" Anthea said happily.

"What do you mean 'we'?" N asked

"We're going with you of course! We're going to help the goal of Team Plasma!"

"What? Why? Don't you think father is going to be angry to find that out?"

"We already got his permission, N, so don't bother trying to talk us out of it. You didn't really expect us to let you got in such a dangerous world on your own, did you?" said Concordia.

"And did you two agree with this?" N asked, looking at Raltz and Gothita. Both Pokemon nodded.

N sighed "Well, then let's stop wasting time here and get going!" N exclaimed.

The trio stepped outside the castle for the first time, together. They were ready and determined to accomplish the impossible.


	2. Chapter 2: Rage

It was a rainy night when N, Anthea, and Concordia set off on their journey in the outside world. Dark clouds filled the sky, and occasionally, they could hear thunder. They were in a town that didn't seem to have anything of importance in it. All that was there was trees and houses.

"Right now, we're in Nuvema town. If we keep going straight from here, we'll be in Accumula Town. There's a Pokemon center there. We should go there and take shelter in the Pokemon Center until the rain stops." said Concordia, as she studied the map carefully while holding an umbrella over her head, and Raltz sat on her head.

"Isn't there anything in this town? All I can see is houses and trees." said N, looking around the town, holding an umbrella over his head, and Zorua riding on his shoulder.

"Uhm, well, it says here that there's a Pokemon Laboratory here, but we have no use in that." she said, shaking her head.

"A Pokemon Laboratory..." N said with interest. "It must be that big building right there, it's the only building here that looks any different from the rest." N said pointing to a sky blue building with a red roof and a logo of a Pokeball right under the roof. "I'm going to check it out, you too go on to Accumula Town, I'll catch up with you later."

"What? N you haven't got any reason to go there, and we're certainly not leaving you here in the rain, on your own." said Anthea, holding Gothita in her arms and an umbrella over her head.

"Then don't stray." said N, as he took off towards the laboratory, not giving his sisters a chance to argue over it.

"N, wait up!" the both shouted, as they took off after him.

N climbed up a big tree, which was close to the window of the laboratory. He sat crouched down on a big branch, looking into the window. Anthea and Concordia shortly climbed up after him and crouched down next to him.

"N, what are we doing up here?" asked Anthea

"Keep quiet, or we'll get caught." N silenced her with a wave of his hand, as they looked through the window, which wasn't easy in the rain.

Inside the laboratory, he could see a lady with light brown hair, wearing a big lab coat and a green skirt, talking on a phone. She must be been a Pokemon Professor. They could also see a man with brown hair and a beard, wearing a yellow shirt and brown jeans. He was sitting at a desk doing something on a computer, and on that desk, they noticed that there were three Pokeballs.

"I wish we could closer, I can't hear anything." N said, not very happy.

"_I have an idea, N!_" said Zorua. "_I can get in there unnoticed, and then tell you everything I hear! I won't get caught, I have my illusion ability!"_

N looked at Zorua, considering if this was a good idea or not. Then he made up his mind. "That's a brilliant idea, Zorua. Just be careful, and don't stay in there any longer than necessary." said N.

Zorua nodded, licked N's face, then climbed down from the tree, and went to the window of the laboratory. The window wasn't heavy, so Zorua had no trouble lifting it up enough to crawl inside unnoticed. Once inside, Zorua crawled under the desk, remaining unnoticed, and listened to the Professor lady talk.

"Oh yes, the three starter Pokemon were delivered last night. They should be arriving soon. We also have a set of three more ready to be delivered!" Zorua heard the lady say.

"_Oh holy Arceus, this is terrible! I can't sit through another word of this!_" said Zorua as he got up from under the desk, and left the lab through the window he came through, then climbed back up the tree where N, Anthea, and Concordia where.

"Zorua, what did you hear?" N asked, surprised at how fast Zorua came back.

"She said something about having delivered three Pokemon! And the three Pokemon on the desk, they are going to be delivered too! We have to do something, N!" pleaded Zorua, jumping back on N's shoulder. Anthea and Concordia's eyes widened in shock. They couldn't believe what they just heard, but N didn't seem surprised. He balled his hand into a fist and slammed it against the bark of the tree in rage.

"That's all I need to hear." said N, as he jumped off the tree, landing gracefully on his feet, and then approached the door to the laboratory.

"N, wait up!" said Anthea and Concordia, as they climbed down the tree.

Without any hesitation, N kicked open the door, making no attempted to be sneaky. The man and lady both stared at him in shock.

"Who are you? What the hell do you think you are doing? Don't you know how to knock?!" Shouted the man.

N completely ignored him and walked over to his desk, and picked up the three Pokeballs.

"Hey! Get your hands off those you thieve!" screamed the man as he jumped out of his chair and grabbed N's arm, trying to stop him.

N threw him off of him with ease, leaving him lying on the floor, possibly hurt, as he left the laboratory . As soon as he was back outside, he opened up all threw Pokeballs, releasing the three Pokemon that were inside. All three looked up at him, confused.

One of the Pokemon had the body of a small, green snake, with a leaf for a tail, and big, brown eyes. It was a Snivy. One looked like a baby otter with a light blue body, white arms, a white face, and a sea shell on its chest. It was an Oshawott. The third looked like a pig, with orange skin, big, oval eyes, and a pink nose. It was a Tepig. N smiled at the three Pokemon, then stomped on the Pokeballs they came out of, and he was stomping on them hard. The look on his face changed from a smile at the Pokemon to a very frustrated look. It looked as if he was taking out years of rage on the Pokeballs. Tepig ran away, fast, probably frightened by N. Oshawott also ran, but went back to the laboratory, and Snivy stayed there.

"N, calm down!" screamed Anthea and Concordia, as they ran over to N, grabbing him by his arms, and dragging him away. As they did so, N looked back at the Pokeballs he destroyed. They were in pieces, and there was no way they could be repaired in that state. Looking at them, however, caused N to break out of his sisters grasp, run back over to the destroyed Pokeballs, and continue destroying them even more. There was a fiery rage clear in his eyes.

"Oh my god, N stop it!" shouted Anthea and Concordia as they grabbed him by his arms again, and once again dragged him away. At first he tried to break out of their grasp again, but eventually calmed down and gave up. They dragged him all the way to Accumula town, afraid he'd take off again. Then they finally let go of him. He stood there speechless.

"N...what in the name of Arceus was that all about? You really scared us..." asked Anthea, placing her hands on her knees, breathing heavily she was exhausted. N stared at the ground, and remained silent.

"Let's just get out of the rain, we can discuss this tomorrow." said Concordia, as she led them into the Pokemon Center. Once they got inside, they rented a room in the Pokemon Center to stay in over night. When they got to their room, N immediately plopped down on the bed and fell asleep, despite the fact that his clothes were soaked wet from the rain.

The next day, N woke up to the unmistakable feeling of Zorua licking his face. He couldn't help but laugh. "Good morning, Zorua." said N, stroking Zoruas fur. He suddenly felt something climb up onto his shoulder, and it wasn't Zorua. It was Snivy. The Snivy from last night must have been following them the whole time.

"Oh, hello! Did you follow us here? I guess you didn't have anywhere else to go, did you? Did you meet Zorua, Raltz, and Gothita already?" asked N, running his fingers down Snivys back. "You're welcome to stay with us as long as you want." Snivy nodded, but didn't say anything. N then noticed that Anthea and Concordia where nowhere in site.

"Oh, where did Anthea and Concordia go, Zorua?" he asked.

"_They went down to the main floor of the Pokemon Center. Let's go catch up with them!_" replied Zorua.

N changed out of the wet clothes he slept in, putting on new ones that looked the exact same, then he went down to the main room of the Pokemon Center, with Zorua on his shoulder and Snivy sitting on his hat. He quickly spotted his sisters. They were buying items from the Poke Mart section of the Pokemon Center.

"Oh, good morning N! Are you feeling alright?" said Anthea, as she embraced her brother in a tight hug. N nodded.

"N, where did that Pokemon come from?" said Concordia, pointing to the Snivy on N's head.

"It's the Snivy from last night. It had nowhere else to go, so it decided to follow us."

"I see." she said. "Anyway, the rain has stopped, so we should start heading off to Striaton City now. That's the first city with a gym in it, so we'll need to be prepared for battle."

Suddenly, all three of their xtranceivers rang at the same time. Ghetsis was calling them.

"Yes father?" they all asked at once, as soon as they answered their xtranceivers.

"I have arrived in Accumula City. I assume you three are here already. I am about to give a speech, come quickly. And remember to try to blend in with the crowd, don't expose yourselves as Team Plasma yet." Ghetsis said as he hung up, not waiting for a response.

The three walked outside the Pokemon Center, and noticed that a huge crowd of people had gathered together, about to listen to Ghetsis's speech. They joined the crowd, looking like random townsfolk interested in the speech.

Ghetsis stood, with six Team Plasma Grunts behind him, and two giant flags of the Team Plasma logo stuck standing tall, blowing in the wind. N recognized three of the grunts: Angie, Brad, and Mei. The other three, he did not recognize, as they hadn't introduced themselves to him. Ghetsis slowly paced from side to side, then began his speech.

"Greetings, citizens! My name is Ghetsis, and I am here representing Team Plasma."

"Huh? Team Plasma?

Who's ever heard of Team Plasma?" said several voices from the crowd.

Ghetsis paced slowly from one side to the other again, then resumed his speech."Today, ladies and gentlemen, I have come here to talk to you about something very important. Pokemon liberation, to be exact."

"Huh? Pokemon liberation?

What is this man talking about?

Is he crazy?" said several more people from the crowd.

"Yes." he continued. "Let's free our Pokemon. We humans live together with Pokemon. We think that we co-exist with each other as partners. But what if I told you that that is not reality? What if I told you that only we humans feel this way, and that the Pokemon disagree? Trainers command their Pokemon to do as they want. Pokemon are strange creatures with unknown potential. They should not exist solely to serve our selfish wishes. Don't you think we should do something for these Pokemon? That's right! We should release our Pokemon! Free your Pokemon! Only then, can Pokemon live to their fullest potential! Liberation has been the answer all along! Ladies and gentlemen, please think about my words today, and spread the word to everyone you know."

With that, his speech was over, and the grunts picked up the flags, then circled around Ghetsis, as if for some type of protection, then they walked away.

"Release our Pokemon?! What the hell was that man talking about?

He's insane! Let's just forget that even happened!

Without Pokemon, we'll be sad and lonely!" said people from the crowd, as they all departed.

"_White, I love you!_"

N spun around and stared in shock. He saw a girl with long, brown hair, wearing a white and pink, a white t-shirt, black jacket, and short blue shorts. She was holding a Tepig, which was the Pokemon that N heard.

N never thought he would a Pokemon say such a thing. He stood there and stared, his mouth wide open , and his heart beating fast. He slowly walked over to the Tepig and it's trainer. Anthea and Concordia where busy studying the town map. They got into an argument over how they should approach winning their first badges, they didn't even notice what N was doing.

"You're Pokemon, just now it was saying..." he started, but was interrupted by a boy with black hair, glasses, wearing a white shirt with red stripes, a blue jacket, and black jeans.

"Slow down, you talk way too fast. And what's this about Pokemon talking?" He asked, crooking his eyebrow.

"Oh...so you can't hear them either then." N said, looking from the girl to the boy. "I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is N, and, unlike you two, I can hear the voices of Pokemon."

"My name is Cheren." said the boy, extending his hand to N, which N completely ignored.

"And I'm White." said the girl. "Can you really understand the voices of Pokemon?" She asked, curiously.

"Yes, I can, and I want to hear the voice of your Pokemon more. I want to hear what your Pokemon says in battle: what exactly does your Pokemon feel about battles?" he asked, talking very fast, again.

"I couldn't make out half of what you just said, but I assume you're challenging me to a battle?" she asked, setting Tepig on the ground, who braced itself for battle.

"If you desire to call it a challenge, yes." said N, as Zorua hopped off his shoulder, faced Tepig, and got in battle stance.

_To be continued..._


	3. Chapter 3: The first battle

Zorua and Tepig crouched down, glaring at each other as their hearts began to race, preparing for the battle ahead.

"Tepig, use Ember!" commanded White. Tepig inhaled, then exhaled, shooting out sparks of bright red flames towards Zorua.

"Zorua, dodge it, then use Fury Swipes!" shouted N. Zorua swiftly rolled to the side, avoiding Tepigs attack, then ran towards Tepig at full speed, slashing its claws towards it.

"Tepig, run out of the way!" shouted White.

"Fleeing will do you no good against us! Zorua, use Pursuit!" commanded N. Tepig began fleeing from Zorua's Fury Swipes, but this was proved to be a fruitless effort, as Zorua quickly teleported behind Tepig, then slashed Tepigs back, hard.

"_Te-tep-ig!" screamed_ Tepig, falling to the ground in pain. Zorua gracefully returned to where N stood, thinking the battle was over.

"Tepig, come on, get up! You can't go down in just one hit!" White shouted. Tepig struggled, barely managing to get back on her feet.

"Still fighting, I see." said N. As the battle continued, Anthea and Concordia suddenly noticed what N was doing, and slowly walked over to him.

"He's battling! He must be training for the gym battle, I told you we should train our Pokemon first!" exclaimed Anthea. N completely ignored them and continued the battle.

"Tepig, now use Flame Charge!" White cried. Tepigs entire body was suddenly engulfed in bright red flames, as it charged at full speed towards Zorua.

"Zorua!" N shouted. He could tell Zorua wasn't going to be able to dodge the attack, so he jumped in front of Zorua, but his arms in front of his body to defend himself, and took the full blow of of the attack. The impact of the attack knocked him several feet back, and he fell face first into the ground.

"N!" shouted Anthea and Concordia, as they ran towards him, making sure that he's okay.

N sat on his knees as they examined him. "N, your arms!" shouted Concordia, pointing to N's arms, which were burned and blistered from his wrist to his elbows.

N looked at his arms, then up at her. "It's just a little burn. It will go away on it's own." he said, pretending not to be in pain.

"_N, I'm so sorry_!" said Zorua, jumping into N's arms, eyes filled with tears. "_If I was strong enough to win the battle, you wouldn't have had to protect me!_"

"It's okay, Zorua, it's not your fault." said N, hugging Zorua.

"Hey! What the heck was that all about?" asked White, as she and Cheren walked over to N.

"You do know human interference in a Pokemon battle is an automatic disqualification, right?" asked Cheren

"What? Are you saying if I protect Zorua in a gym battle, then I'm given a loss?" asked N in shock.

"That's right." nodded Cheren.

"You're going to need a lot more than cheap, dirty tricks if you want to win badges." said White, crossing her arms.

N looked at White. "Your Pokemons voice...I have heard all I need to hear for now. I get the feeling we will meet again soon." he said, as he stood up and walked away.

"N, wait! We need to fix up your arms!" shout Concordia, as she and Anthea followed after N

"Weird guy." said Cheren, hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, weird..." she said, watching as N walked away.

An hour later, N's arms were bandaged up, and the three arrived in Striaton City.

"We're here! Shall we challenge the gym now?" asked Anthea

"We need a strategy first. There's three gym leaders for this gym, and they use Pokemon that cover the other ones type weakness. We can't just go in and expect an easy win." said Concordia

"Why don't we have a battle then? If our Pokemon battle, they will get stronger and maybe even learn new moves." said Anthea

"We're wasting time, let's just go." said N, as he ran off towards the gym.

"There he goes again..." sighed Concordia, as she and Anthea ran after him.

When the trio got to the gym, they noticed three other trainers there. White, Cheren, and a girl with blonde hair, wearing a big green hat, an orange shirt, and a big white skirt.

"I said I'm sure we'll meet again, but I didn't expect this soon." said N

White spun around. She hadn't even noticed N approaching. "N? You're here to challenge the gym already?" she asked

"Oh, he's N? The guy you told me about?" asked the blonde girl.

"And who are you?" asked N, staring at her with a crooked eyebrow.

"Oh, I'm Bianca! White told me all about you! Sounded like she has a secret crush on your or something, but it looks like you have two girlfriends already." she said, point at Anthea and Concordia.

"Shut up Bianca!" said White, punching her in the shoulder.

Anthea and Concordia blushed. "Uh, we're his sisters. I'm Concordia, and this is Anthea." said Concordia

"What is a girlfriend?" asked N curiously.

White, Bianca, and Cheren all blinked at him in surprise. "You can't be serious." said Cheren

"Why? Is a girlfriend something I need to win get gym badges?" N asked. He was seriously confused.

"Anyway, what are you three doing here?" asked Concordia, trying to change the subject.

"We're here for a gym battle, what else would we be doing here?" said White.

"Oh, but we also came for a gym battle. We get to challenge the gym first!" said Anthea

"And what entitles you to that right?" asked Cheren

"Oh, oh I know! Why don't we have a triple battle? Whoever wins gets to challenge the gym first!" said Bianca.

"That's a great idea!" said White.

"What a bother. We're actually going to fight for rights to challenge a gym? Guess there's no other way." Said Cheren.

"If we battle them, we'll finally get to train our Pokemon! This is a great chance!" said Anthea, clapping her hands excitedly.

"I want to hear your Pokemons voice again." said N, staring at White.

"If both N and Anthea agree on it, then there's no way out." said Concordia with a sigh.

"Oshawott, I choose you!" said Bianca, as she threw a Pokeball, which sent out an Oshawott.

"Go, Tepig!" said White, as she sent Tepig out of its Pokeball.

"Servine, go!" said Cheren as he sent a Servine out of it's Pokeball.

"_Servine...that's the evolved form of Snivy. Is it a mere coincidence that these three trainers have the same Pokemon as the ones I released from the laboratory last night? No...it can't be. They must be the ones that were delivered a set of starters before._" N thought to himself.

"Let's go, Gothita! This will be your first battle, please do your best!" said Anthea as she put Gothita on the ground.

"Raltz, prepare for battle. Remember what we studied." said Concordia as she put Raltz on the ground.

"_N, let me battle this time._" said Snivy, climbing down from N's head, to the ground, and stood near Raltz and Gothita.

"_Wait! I wanted to battle! Why does Snivy get to take my place?_" said asked Zorua, frustrated.

"You had your turn already, Zorua. Now it's Snivys turn." said N.

"_This is because I lost the last battle, isn't it? I'm not weak, N! I can win this time, I know I can!_" said Zorua.

N sighed. "Look, Zorua. If you let Snivy battle now, you get to battle now, you get to battle against the gym leaders, alright?"

"_Hmph. Fair enough._" said Zorua, still not pleased.

Snivy, Raltz, and Gothita stood side by side, facing Tepig, Oshawott, and Servine. The six Pokemon were ready to battle.

"Oshawott, use Water Gun on Raltz! commanded Bianca.

"Servine, use Leaf Tornado on Gothita!" commanded Cheren

"Tepig, use Flame Charge on Snivy!" commanded White.

"Gothita use Fake Tears!" shouted Anthea. Gothita started fake crying, which caused Oshawott to stop its attack, looking confused.

"Raltz, use Double Team!" shouted Concordia. Raltz made about a dozen fake copies itself appear, which took the hit for her.

"Snivy, use Attract!" shouted N. Snivy got a smug look on his face, then blew several hearts towards the female Tepig. Tepig stopped her attack, and her eyes suddenly grew into giant hearts. She was completely dazed.

"Shit! Do cheap, dirty tricks run in your family or something?" asked White. "Tepig, snap out of it!" she shouted. Tepig was still dazed.

"Snivy, now's your chance! Use Vine Whip on Oshawott!" commanded N. Snivy ran towards Oshawott, but was intercepted by Servine.

"I don't think so!" said Cheren. "Servine, use Wrap on Snivy!" Servine wrapped its long body around Snivy tightly, leaving him with no way of moving.

"Snivy!" screamed N, worried. He had no way of freeing Snivy from Servines hold, which meant Snivy would soon faint.

"Don't worry N, I'll help you out!" said Anthea. "Gothita, use Tickle on Servine!" Gothita ran over to Servine, and started tickling it. Servine tried to resist, but couldn't help falling over and laughing, which let Snivy out.

"Servine, get up and use Leaf Tornado on Gothita!" commanded Cheren. Servine got up, spinning in a circle, which created a giant tornado made out of leaves, and it was coming right towards Gothita.

"Gothita, now's your chance! Use Mirror Coat!" commanded Anthea. Gothita created a huge mirror, which deflected Servines Leaf Tornado, causing the attack to go towards Servine instead, and this time, twice as powerful.

"Servine, get out of there!" shouted Cheren. Servine tried to run away, but the attack came too fast, and hit it right on the back. Servine fell to the ground, unable to continue battling.

"What a bother. White was right, you three only have cheap tricks up your sleeves." said Cheren as he returned Servine to its Pokeball.

"It's called strategy." said Concordia, proud of their tactics. "Now, Ralts, use Confusion on Oshawott!" commanded Concordia. Ralts sent a small, purple beam at Oshawott, which caused Oshawott to started walking around in circles, confused.

"Oh no, Oshawott! Stop being silly and use Water Gun!" shouted Bianca. Oshawott used its attack, but it didn't hit anything.

"Snivy, now! Use Vine Whip on Oshawott! Don't stop until Oshawott can't get back up!" commanded N. Snivy ran towards Oshawott, then created two whips made out of vines, and repeatedly hit Oshawott with them, then finally stopped when Oshawott fell to the ground and couldn't get back up.

"Oh, my poor little Pokemon..." said Bianca as she returned her Pokemon to it's Pokeball.

"Now, there's only one left." said N, now focusing on Tepig.

"Damn, it's three on one now..." said White. "Tepig, come on! Snap out of it!" Tepig suddenly came to it's senses.

"Alright! Now use Flame Charge on Snivy!" she commanded. Tepigs entire body became covered in flames, as it charged towards Snivy at full speed.

"Ralts, use Confusion!" shouted Concordia. Ralts used its attack on Tepig, which caused Tepig to stop running when it was right about to hit Snivy, then became confused.

"Gothita, use Tickle!" shouted Anthea. Gothita ran towards Tepig, then started tickling it's stomach. Tepig was now completely defenseless.

"Snivy, now! Vine Whip!" commanded N. Snivy began assaulting Tepig with his two whips made out of vines. After the sixth hit, Tepig was unable to battle. The battle was won.

"Damn...you guys win." said White, returning Tepig to her Pokeball. "You use such cheap, annoying, dirty tricks though!" she complained.

"Nothing wrong with coming to battle with a strategy." said Concordia proudly.

"The Pokemon on both sides tried their best, didn't they...? asked Bianca

"I suppose we'll just watch you three battle the gym leaders while we wait, if you don't mind of course." said Cheren

"Your Pokemons voice...it's very intriguing." said N, staring at White.

"What do you mean? Did she say something to you?" asked White curiously.

"I see. You really can't hear them either. Pity." Said N.

"Come on, guys! We can challenge the gym now! Less chit chat and let's get going!" said Anthea, as she and Concordia finished healing up their Pokemon.

"Yeah, let's get a move on." said N, as he and his sisters went inside the gym, with White, Cheren, and Bianca following.

_To be continued..._


	4. Chapter 4: Striaton Gym

N and his sisters had entered the Striaton City Gym, ready to get their first gym badge, but to their surprise, the inside of the gym looked far more like a restaurant than a battlefield.

"Did we enter the right building?" asked Anthea

"This isn't just a gym, it's also a restaurant. The gym is at the far back." said Concordia

"Then let's keep moving." said N, as they walked all the way to the back of the gym.

Once they arrived at the back of the gym, they saw the three gym leaders. They were dressed like waiters.

"Hey guys, looks like we got our first challengers of the day!" said one of the gym leaders. He had bright, red hair in the shape of fire. He wore a name tag that read "Chili".

"How splendid. I see we've got three at once this time, that's certainly a first." said the second gym leader. He had long, blue hair that fell over his eyes. His name tag read "Cress."

"All three of you are here for a battle, correct?" said the third gym leader. He had short, green hair which was clipped back. His name tag read "Cilan."

"That's right." N said with a nod.

"Awesome! Since it's three of you, and three of us, let's shake things up and make this a triple battle!" said Chili.

"Another triple battle! This will be fun, especially since we just had a triple battle before coming here!" said Anthea.

"Yes, this is a good idea. If we use our teamwork strategies again, no one stands a chance against us." said Concordia.

"I have no objections." said N

"Wonderful! I can sense the taste of a luxurious battle upon us!" said Cilan, with a big smile on his face.

"This is gonna be boring it watch, if they use those annoying, cheap tricks they used against us." said White, as she, Cheren, and Bianca sat in chairs outside of the battlefield, ready to watch the battle.

"I doubt they'll actually beat the gym leaders like that." said Cheren.

"Alright, here are the rules. First off, you each may only use one Pokemon. If you switch out your Pokemon for another one, you will automatically be disqualified. Rule number two! A trainer may not get physically involved in battle! If you do, you will automatically be disqualified. Rule number three! Since this is a triple battle, if one of your Pokemon is unable to continue battle, but you still win the battle, then all three of you will be given the badge. Rule number four! Have fun and good luck!" said Cress.

"Now let's get this battle started! Go, Pansear!" said Chili, as he sent out a Pokemon that looked like a small, red monkey with a short tail.

"Let's go, Panpour!" said Cress, sending out a Pokemon that looked similar to Pansear, but was blue.

"Pansage, come on out!" said Cilan, sending out his Pokemon, which looked similar to Pansear and Panpour, but was blue.

"Ready, Gothita?" said Anthea as she put Gothita on the floor.

"Play smart, and we'll win, got it Ralts?" said Concordia as she put Ralts on the floor.

"Alright, Zorua. I know you'll fight well." said N, as Zorua hopped off his shoulder, and stood next to Ralts and Gothita.

"_Don't worry N, I'm not weak! I can beat these guys, I know I can!_" said Zorua. The battle then begun.

"Pansear, let's start things off with Incinerate!" commanded Chili. Pansear threw small balls of fire towards Zorua.

"Dodge it, Zorua!" shouted N. Zorua jumped over the fireballs with ease.

"Pansage, use Vine Whip on Ralts!" shouted Cilan. Pansage created two long whips made out of vines, and charged towards Ralts.

"Ralts, Double Team, now!" commanded Concordia. Ralts instantly created a dozen illusions of herself, causing Pansage's attack to hit the illusions.

"Panpour, use Water Gun on the real Ralts, now that Pansage has took out the fakes!" shouted Cress. Panpour sent a gush of water out of his mouth towards Ralts.

"Ralts, dodge it with Teleport!" but the attack came too fast, and hit Ralts right in the face, knocking her several feet back.

"Hey, why is everybody ignoring you, Gothita? We'll teach them not to ignore us! Use Tickle on Panpour!" Gothita ran towards Panpour, but was intercepted by Pansage.

"If it's attention you want, it's attention you get! Pansage, use Leech Seed!" commanded Cilan. Pansage planted seeds right under Gothitas feet, which rooted her to the spot, preventing her from moving.

"Now, Pansear! Use Incinerate on Gothita while she can't move!" Pansear threw three fireballs at Gothita, which each landed a successful hit, the third knocking Gothita several feet back, where Ralts fell.

"Oh no, Gothita!" screamed Anthea.

"Zorua, attack Panpour with Fury Swipes!" shouted N. Zorua charged towards Panpour, claws extended, but Pansear and Pansage stepped in the way.

"Pansage, use Vine Whip!" commanded Cilan.

"Pansear, use Yawn!" commanded Chili.

Pansear let a huge yawn towards Zorua, causing him to get drowsy, then Pansage assaulted Zorua with the Vine Whips, which knocked Zorua several feet back, where Ralts and Gothita had fell.

"Zorua!" screamed N.

"Looks like I was right. There strategy is being torn apart by the gym leaders." said Cheren.

"Hah, maybe now they'll learn not to play dirty." said White smugly.

"Oh but the battle isn't over yet...right?" asked Bianca

"This isn't good, we're losing." said Concordia. "Ralts, use Heal Pulse on Gothita and Zorua!" she commanded. Ralts sent a pulse through the air towards Gothita and Zorua, which healed them back to full health.

"Alright, now we can win this!" said Anthea.

"Don't be so sure about that!" said Chili.

"Heal Pulse can only heal your partners, but not yourself. So once we beat Ralts, you can longer restore your health!" said Cress.

"Exactly. Pansage, use Scratch on Ralts!" shouted Cilan.

"Pansear, you use Incinerate on Ralts!" shouted Chili.

"Panpour, use Water Gun on Ralts!" commanded Cress.

All three monkeys attacked at the same time, all directed at Ralts. If they were to hit, Ralts would surely be unable to continue battling.

"Ralts, dodge with Teleport!" commanded Concordia. Ralts teleported a good distance behind the three monkeys, leaving them off balance, and their attacks hit the wall.

"This is our chance! Gothita, use Tickle on Pansage!" commanded Anthea. Gothita began tickling Pansages stomach, causing him to fall on the floor, laughing uncontrollably.

"Now, Zorua, attack Pansage with Faint Attack!" commanded N. Zorua charged at Pansage, then attacked him with a nasty sucker punch. Pansage jumped up, and in screamed in pain, staggering back.

"Yes! We got in some damage!" said Anthea happily.

"Don't be so happy just yet, the battle is far from over." said Cress.

"Pansear, Incinerate Gothita!" shouted Chili.

"Gothita, now, use Mirror Coat!" shouted Anthea. Gothita made a big mirror appear in front of her, which the fireballs bounced right off of, then they doubled in size and flew back at Pansear twice as fast.

"Yikes! Pansear, get out of there!" shouted Chili. Pansear tried to run away, but the attack came too fast, and hit Pansear, hard. Pansear fell to the floor, unable to proceed battling.

"Youch! Play with fire and get burned!" said Chili, as he returned his Pokemon to its Pokeball.

"Yes! You did it Gothita, we beat one of their Pokemon!" said Anthea happily.

"The battle still isn't over! Panpour, use Water Gun on Zorua!" said Cress.

"Zorua, dodge it!" cried N. Zorua tried to move out of the way, but suddenly fell fast asleep. The gush of water then hit Zorua on the back, knocking him against the wall.

"Ha! Pansear may have been beat, but didn't go down in vain! The effects of his Yawn have finally kicked in!" said Chili proudly.

"_Zorua can't attack, or defend himself if he's sleep...this is bad._" N thought to himself.

"Now, Pansage, finish Zorua off with Vine Whip!" commanded Cilan.

"Ralts, teleport over to Zorua, then attack Pansage with Confusion!" commanded Concordia. Ralts teleported in front of Zorua, then striked the already weakened Pansage with Confusion. Pansage fell down to the floor again, but luckily didn't get confused.

"Ralts can't teleport if she's rooted to the ground! Pansage, use Leech Seed on Ralts!" Cilan shouted. Pansage planted seeds under Ralts's feet, which instantly rooted her to the spot, preventing any type of escape.

"Now that that nuisance is out of the way, Panpour finish Zorua off with Water Gun!" shouted Cress.

"Zorua, wake up! Come on, you're gonna get hit!" cried N. It was no use. Zorua remained fast asleep, then was hit hard by the gush of water. Zorua was now unable to battle.

"Zorua!" N cried, as he ran to Zorua, then picked him up, cradling him in his arms. "My friends getting hurt...that's what a Pokemon battle is." whispered N.

"The battle is now even!" said Cilan.

"That's what you think. It may now be two on two, but your Pansage has already had its defense lowered, and has been hit twice. One more hit and it's sure to go down." said Concordia.

"Right! Gothita, use Confusion on Pansage!" commanded Anthea.

"I don't think so! Panpour, protect Pansage!" commanded Cress. Instead of Pansage, Gothita's attack hit Panpour, which dealt a good amount of damage, while also confusing him.

"Pansage is now defenseless, Ralts use Confusion on Pansage!" commanded Concordia. Pansage took the hit, then fell down, unable to continue battling.

"The taste of defeat is bitter..." said Cilan, returning Pansage to it's Pokeball.

"Gothita, attack Panpour again with Confusion!" commanded Anthea.

"Panpour, snap out of it and dodge!" cried Cress. Panpour continued walking around in circles, occasionally hitting itself in the face, then was hit by Gothitas attack, and fell over, unconscious.

"Oh well, I suppose we've been beaten." said Cress, returning his Pokemon to its Pokeball.

"We did it! We won our first gym battle!" said Anthea happily.

"They actually did it. I must admit, I am impressed." said Cheren.

"Wow, that was exciting!" said Bianca

"There's nothing exciting or impressive about playing dirty!" said White, unimpressed.

"Alright, you three won fair and square." said Cilan

"And we now reward you with the Trio Badge!" said Chili, handing them their badges.

N held his badge up in the air, examining it. It was shaped as three triangles attached to each other: one blue, the other red, and the third green.

"Chili, you forgot to give them their badge cases." said Cress with a sigh, as he gave them cases to hold their badges in.

"One down, seven to go. Just seven more badges, and I can compete in the Pokemon League." N said quietly, as he put his badge in its case.

"Hey! What about us? We're here for a gym battle too!" said White, as she, Bianca, and Cheren walked up to the battlefield.

"Another pair of three? Is challenging us as a trio a new trend?" asked Cilan with a laugh.

"Hey N! Why don't you three watch us battle and see how a true trainer battles?" asked White

"Why?" N asked. "I won the badge, I have no further reason to be here." he said, as he and his sisters walked out of the gym.

_To be continued..._


	5. Chapter 5: The Mysterious Trainer

N and his sisters had defeated the Striaton City Gym Leaders, and were now on their to Nacrene City, where their next Gym battle awaits. Zorua had now finally regained consciousness, after having been beat by the Gym Leaders.

"_N, I lost again. I'm sorry, N, I just keep failing you._" said Zorua, nuzzling into Ns face.

N sighed, as he took his collapsible skateboard out of his pocket, unfolded, and hopped on.

"Zorua, you didn't lose. We won the battle. That's whats important."

"_You're just saying that, N! I didn't beat a single Pokemon, Ralts and Gothita did all the work, you know that, N_!" cried Zorua.

"You underestimate yourself, Zorua." said N, stroking Zoruas fur and giving him a reassuring smile. "So, Concordia, what's the fastest way to Nacrene City?" he asked.

"Hmm, let's see...the only way from Striaton City to Nacrene City is by going to Route 3, then keep going West. It's not too far." said Concordia, studying the map.

"Let's get going then." N said, taking off on his skateboard.

"N, wait up!" his sisters shouted, running after him.

Once they got to Route 3, N slowed his pace down enough for his sisters to catch up. Suddenly, a Pokemon jumped out of a nearby tree, snatched N's skateboard, then ran off at high speed.

"What the-?" gasped Anthea and Concordia

"M-my skateboard!" screamed N, chasing off after the Pokemon, his sisters close behind.

After running for what seemed like forever, they had finally found the Pokemon that stole N's skateboard. It was a short, black, bi-pedal Pokemon. It had hair on its head that resembled pink feathers, had razor sharp claws on its hands and feet, and long tail feathers. It was also wearing a long, pink scarf.

"_A Weavile..but why did she take my skateboard?_" N thought to himself, then noticed the trainer standing next to it.

The Weaviles trainer was a girl with long black hair, pale skin, and two different colored eyes; one green, one blue. She wore a black suit jacket with red ribbons on the sleeves, over a black dress and red bowtie, and also wore a black top hat, and striped black and white stockings. She was standing on N's skateboard.

"Who are you? What do you think you're doing using a Pokemon to steal my skateboard from me?" N asked, balling his hands into fists.

"My apologies, monsieur, but all you need to know at this very moment is that I am justice, and I'm just furthering my own agenda, which happens to involve you right now." she said.

Concordia stepped in front of N. "I don't care who you think you are, but that skateboard belongs to my brother, and I demand that you give it back to him NOW!" she said in an intimidating voice.

"My apologies, but I can not do that." said the mysterious trainer.

"I'm not playing around with you! Give it back to him, right now!" shouted Concordia.

"He can have it back if he beats me in a Pokemon battle." she said.

"_First she uses her Pokemon to steal my skateboard, and now she wants to risk her Pokemon getting hurt to keep it? Pokemon are friends not tools._" N thought to himself.

"_Don't worry N, I'll beat this girl and get it back for you!_" said Zorua, hoping off N's shoulders, and stood boldly on the ground, ready for a fight.

"Zorua, I can't stand to see you get hurt again..." said N.

"_But I have to battle to get stronger, and I can't just let her steal your skateboard, it's precious to you!_" exclaimed Zorua.

N could see there was no way to talk Zorua out of it. "Alright, if you insist, but I really don't want to let you get hurt." N said.

"Go, Blaziken." she said, as she sent out a tall, bipedal Pokemon, with red feathers covering its body, brown feathers on it's head and down it's back, sharp claws on it's hands, and sharp fangs.

"That Pokemon looks really strong... be careful, N!" said Anthea.

"Zorua, start things off with Fury Swipes!" commanded N. Zorua jumped towards Blaziken, extending his claws, ready to slash Blaziken in the face.

"Blaziken, use Protect." said the mysterious trainer. Blaziken put its arms in front of itself, and created an invisible shield that blocked Zoruas attack, knocking Zorua off balance.

"Now, Blaziken, use High Jump Kick!" she commanded. Blaziken jumped up high into the air at amazing speed, then came down at full force towards Zorua, its foot extended for a powerful kick.

"Zorua, run!" cried N. It was too late. Blaziken came down too fast, hitting Zorua with the powerful kick, which nearly smashed Zorua into the ground. Zorua was clearly not going to be able to get back up.

Anthea and Concordias eyes widened, shocked by the sheer power of Blaziken, and how fast the battle ended.

"No...Zorua!" cried N, tears in his eyes, as he ran to Zorua, cradling him in his arms.

The mysterious trainer returned her Pokemon to its Pokeball. Then rode away on N's skateboard.

"_Well some glad morning... when this life is over, I'll fly away..._

_To a home somewhere in the sky... I'll fly away..._

_I'll fly away, Oh Glory... I'll fly away..._

_When I die, Hallelujah, by and by... I'll fly away..._

_Just a few more weary days and the-en, I-I'll fly away-hay" she sang, slowly as she rode away, then was out of sight." _she sung, slowly and sadly, as she rode away.

"N, are you alright?" asked Anthea, as she and Concordia came to N's sides.

N was speechless. He sat on the ground, cradling his unconscious Zorua in his arms, as he stared at the ground, with a blank expression on his face. Not only did he just witness his Pokemon get hurt, he also just lost his skateboard.

"N, I'm sorry. I should have helped you get it back." said Concordia, stroking N's hair.

"Do you remember the day I got that skateboard?" N asked, his eyes still staring at the ground, and his face still expressionless.

"Of course. How could I forget that?" asked Concordia.

"I remember it like it was yesterday..." N said, getting lost in memory.

_Anthea and Concordia walked into N's room together with big smiles on their faces. They looked as if they were about seven and eight. They were holding something, wrapped like a present behind their backs. Inside his room, N sat on the floor, playing with his train set, his face emotionless. He looked to be about six years old at the time._

"_Happy birthday, N!" they both said at the same time._

_Nothing special ever happened on N's birthdays, so he didn't understand why they were so happy. _

"_Annie, Connie, what have you got behind your backs?" he asked, looking up at them. At his age, he couldn't pronounce his sisters names, so he called them Annie and Connie instead. _

"_It's a present! Open it up!" said Anthea excitedly, as she and Concordia put the present on the floor. It wasn't easy, but Concordia had managed to talk Ghetsis into buying N a present._

"_Open it...?" N asked, confused. He had never seen anything wrapped before._

"_Here, I'll show you." said Concordia, as she ripped off some of the wrapping paper to show N what to do._

_Once N finished unwrapping it, his eyes widened, he had never seen anything like it. It was a white skateboard, with art of Reshiram standing in front of a wall of fire. N held it up in the air, staring in amazement._

"_What is this?" he asked_

"_It's a skateboard!" said Anthea_

"_What does it do?" he asked, pushing it across the floor, watching it roll._

"_You ride on it. Let me show you." said Concordia, as she stood on the skateboard with one foot, and kicked off with the other. N and Anthea watched her excitedly. _

"_See? Now you try, N." she said, giving the skateboard to him._

_N stood on the skateboard, then kicked off, just like he saw Concordia do. He got the hang of it pretty fast. _

"_Wow, this is fun!" said N, riding his skateboard around his room, then hopped off, embracing his sisters in a big hug. _

"_Thank you Connie, thank you Annie!" he said happily._

_His sisters giggled. "You're welcome, N." they both said._

"Next time I see that girl, I will get my skateboard back, I swear on it." N said, as he stood up, eyes closed, twirling his necklace in his hand, his hair blowing in the wind.

Anthea and Concordia stood behind him, closed their eyes, and grasped some of his hair in their hands, as it continued blowing in the wind. N blushed and looked back at them.

"We'll be sure to help you with that, my dear brother." said Concordia, smiling confidently.

Meanwhile, in the dreamyard, Team Plasma was up to something.

"We found, you Munna!" said Angie, as she and Brad approached a small, pink Pokemon that looked like a floating elephant with a small trunk.

"In the name of Team Plasma, you're going to make lots of dream mist for us!" said Brad.

"Now, make with the dream mist already!" said Angie, kicking Munna in the stomach. Munna screamed in pain.

Suddenly, White and Bianca appeared in the dreamyard.

"Look, White, it's those Team Plasma guys!" exclaimed Bianca.

"After all that talk about saving Pokemon, you guys are here, assaulting a wild Pokemon? You're nothing but hypocrites!" said White.

"Who the hell do you kids think you are? Talking down to Team Plasma?" asked Brad

"We'll teach you your place! Go, Seviper!" said Angie, as she sent out a Pokemon shaped like a snake, with black skin, yellow spots, red eyes, a purple mark in the shape of a lightning bolt on it's neck and blood red fangs sticking out of its mouth.

"Magnezone, go!" said Brad, sending out a Pokemon that looked sort of like an alien spaceship. It had three heads, the two on the side half the size of the main one, both with two screws on their heads, two magnets for arms, another magnet on it's bottom, and a yellow atena on the main head.

"In the name of Team Plasma, we shall defeat you, then make you free your Pokemon!" he said, as Magnezone and Seviper slowly approached White.

"What? Don't hurt White!" cried Bianca.

_To be continued..._


	6. Chapter 6: Training

"Like hell am I going to let you do that! Go, Tepig!" said White, sending Tepig out of its Pokeball.

"Oshawott, help out White!" said Bianca, sending out Oshawott.

"You think you can defeat us with weak Pokemon like that?" asked Brad

"This will be over quick. Seviper, use Poison Fang on Tepig!" commanded Angie. Seviper bared its fangs, rushing towards Tepig.

"Tepig, quick, dodge it!" cried White.

"You're not going anywhere! Magnezone, Thunder Wave!" commanded Brad. Magnezone shot a tiny bolt of electicity on Tepig, which paralyzed her, preventing her from moving.

"Oh no, Tepig!" cried White. Seviper continued slithering towards Tepig.

"Oshawott, stop Seviper with Water Gun!" commanded Bianca. Oshawott sprayed a gush of water out of its mouth at Seviper. It wasn't very powerful, but it was enough to make Seviper flinch, cancelling its attack.

"You little brat! You're gonna pay for that! Seviper, once more, use Poison Fang on Tepig while she can't move!" commanded Angie

"Magnezone, take out Oshawott with Thunderbolt!" commanded Brad. Magnezone shot a giant bolt of electricity out of its attena down on Oshawott, which instantly defeated it.

"Oh dear...Oshawott, return!" said Bianca, returning her Pokemon to its Pokeball.

"Tepig, use Ember on Seviper!" White cried, as Seviper continued slithering towards Tepig.

"Seviper, dodge it then finish this!" commanded Angie. Seviper dodged to the side, avoiding Tepigs attack, then struck its fangs into Tepigs back, injecting its venom into her. Tepig screamed in pain as she slowly passed out.

"Damn...Tepig, return!" said White, returning her Pokemon.

"Stupid kids! You really thought you could beat the top ranked Grunts of Team Plasma?" asked Brad.

"Now that you're out of the way, we'll just take this Munna with us, along with your Pokemon!" said Angie, as she grabbed Munna.

Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light, and when it faded away, Ghetsis was there. There was something about him that looked somewhat like an illusion.

"What the hell do you two think you are doing, sitting around here goofing off?" he asked.

"S-sage Ghetsis?" stuttered Angie. She looked like she was just about to wet herself. Then, a second Ghetsis appeared.

"We, Team Plasma shall separate Pokemon from foolish people!" said the second Ghetsis. Then, both Ghetsis disappeared and one more appeared.

"If you two cannot fulfill your duties then..." he said.

"W-we're sorry Sage Ghetsis!" the both said at once, then ran away as fast as they could. They were clearly confused, and scared out of their minds.

Then, Ghetsis disappeared, and a Musharna floated out from the grass, over to Munna. The two Pokemon hugged.

"Oh, that's so cute!" said Bianca.

"That Ghetsis guy wasn't really there, right? It was somewhat like a dream." said White.

"Or a nightmare for those Team Plasma guys." said Bianca with a giggle.

"That Musharna must have used its dream mist to create the illusions to protect Munna." said White, as she and Bianca left the dream yard.

After having been beat by the mysterious trainer, and having his skateboard been stolen, N and his sisters arrived at Nacrene City, and Zorua had regained consciousness. The trio and their Pokemon sat on a bench, eating their lunch. Zorua, however, seemed to have no appetite.

"_N, I failed you again. If I wasn't so weak, I would've won and you wouldn't have lost your skateboard. It's all my fault N._" said Zorua, shutting is eyes tight, trying to prevent the tears from running down his face.

"It's not your fault, Zorua. She would've beat Snivy, Ralts, or Gothita too." N said, looking down at Zorua.

"_Then I guess we're all weak!_" shouted Zorua, knocking his bowl over, his food spilling everywhere. "_Why are we sitting around here doing nothing? We need to get stronger! What if that girl where to show up right now and steal something else? We'd be completely defeneless!_" Zorua cried.

"That's enough, Zorua! I don't want to hear another word about you or anyone else being weak!" N shouted, slamming his fist down on the table.

"N...Zorua has a point." said Anthea, placing her hand on N's shoulder. "If we don't train the Pokemon at all, they won't grow stronger, and then we won't be able to beat stronger opponents." she said.

N gritted his teeth. "Don't tell me you're going to agree with this?" he asked, looking at Concordia.

"Well, N, we could use some new battle strategies. The strategy we used against the Striaton Gym Leaders only worked because it was a triple battle. This time we won't be able to battle together." she said, placing her hand on his other shoulder.

N stood, looking frustrated. "Fine, you guys do whatever you want." he said, walking away. Snivy followed him and crawled on top of his hat.

"N? Where are you going?" asked Concordia.

"I'm just going for a walk. I won't go far. Zorua, stay with them if you want to train." he said, as he walked out of view.

"_Is N mad at me?_" Zorua asked.

"Don't be silly, of course he isn't. He just thinks that if you train, you'll get hurt. He can't stand the sight of you being hurt." said Anthea.

"_If I have to get hurt in order to get stronger, then so be it!_" said Zorua, boldly.

Anthea smiled. "Right! Let's get started then!" she said.

"Hold up, how exactly do you plan on training the Pokemon?" asked Concordia.

"Easy! We'll just keep battling until we see some progress!" said Anthea.

"That won't work. First, we need to get a new strategy, and teach the Pokemon some new moves. Blindly increasing their strength isn't going to take us far." said Concordia.

"And why do you get to choose how we do everything?" said Anthea, hands on her hips.

"Because I'm the oldest, and clearly the smartest. You didn't even have a plan." said Concordia.

"Your strategies are useless if we don't have strength to back it up!" exclaimed Anthea.

Concordia sighed. "Pure strength is useless without a strategy to back it up." she said.

"You're so stubborn, this is going nowhere! Why don't we just have a battle, and the winner decides how we train the Pokemon?" asked Anthea.

"You've got some nerve calling me stubborn. You are right that this is going nowhere, though. I suppose the only way to settle this is through battle." said Concordia with a sigh.

"_Hey! What about me?_" said Zorua, getting annoyed.

"Don't worry Zorua, I'm gonna beat her, then I'll train you to be really strong! For now, just watch and learn okay?" said Anthea.

While they battled, N continued his walk down Route 3, and while he walked, White ran right into him.

"Oops! Sorry, didn't see you there!" she said, then looked up and noticed it was N. "N? What are you doing here?"

"I decided to go for a walk. You seemed to be in a hurry. Is something wrong?" he asked

"I need to get to the nearest Pokemon Center as soon as possible. The one in Striaton City was closed and won't be open for another hour." she said, panting.

"But why are you in such a hurry?" N asked.

"It's Tepig, look!" she said, sending Tepig out of her Pokeball. The Pokemons eyes were closed, she was shivering, and the color of her body changed to a light purple.

N gasped. "What happened to her?" he asked, placing his hand on Tepigs forehead.

"She's poisoned. We were attacked by Team Plasma, and their Seviper used Poison Fang on her." said White.

"Team Plasma did this?" N asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, they're nothing more than a bunch of no good, Pokemon robbing hypocrites!" exclaimed White.

N couldn't believe what he was hearing. He took two bottles of medicine out of his pocket.

"I think I can help." he said, as he sprayed some of the first medicine on Tepig. Tepigs skin slowly returned to normal, then she stopped shivering.

"It's Antidote. It cures poison." he said. "Now we need to restore her stamina." N said, as he slowly poured some of the second bottle of medicine in Tepigs mouth. After swallowing it, Tepig opened her eyes, then sprang up. She was fully recovered.

"Wow, she's all better! Thank you N!" cried White happily.

N smiled and tipped his hat down over his eyes. "You're welcome. When we got to Nacrene City, Concordia decided it would be smart if we purchased some medicines." he said.

"Arceus bless her soul." said White.

"Well, I guess I should head back to Nacrene City, before my sisters call out a search party." he said with a laugh.

White laughed too. She didn't know N had a sense of humor. "Since you've already been to Nacrene City, I'm guessing you already won the Basic Badge?" she asked.

"No, we haven't challenged the gym yet." N said.

"Since we're both here, and we're both going to challenge the gym, how about a battle?" White asked.

N remembered his sisters telling him how they needed to prepare for their future battles, back in Nacrene City. He decided battling White would be a good way to prepare.

"If it's a battle you desire, it's a battle you just got." said N, as Snivy hopped off his head and on to the ground.

"Alright, Tepig let's start things off with Ember!" commanded White. Tepig blew sparks of fire out of her nose towards Snivy.

"Snivy, dodge and use Attract!" commanded N. Snivy swiftly dodged Tepigs attack, then blew several hearts towards Tepig, all which hit, causing Tepigs eyes to grow into two big hearts, and she stopped battling.

"Shit! Not that move again! Tepig, snap out of it and use Flame Charge!" cried White, but it was no use.

"Now, Snivy, use Growth while she can't attack you!" commanded N. Snivys body suddenly glowed a bright yellow, then returned to normal. Snivy had raised his attack power.

"They didn't attack! Come on Tepig, snap out of it and use Flame Charge!" White cried again, but once again, Tepig did nothing.

"Snivy, now, use Vine Whip!" shouted N. Snivy created two long whips made of vines, then charged towards Tepig with them.

"Tepig, come on, snap out of it and use Flame Charge!"

Tepig shook her head, coming to her sense, then her body became engulfed in flames, as she charged towards Snivy at full speed. Both Pokemon landed their attacks on each other at the same time, which caused a huge impact that knocked them both back. Snivy lay on the ground, unable to proceed battling, and Tepig also lay on the ground, but manged to get back on her feet, barely.

"Yes! We won Tepig!" said White, picking her Pokemon up and spinning around.

"_Is it impossible for me to win while being concerned about my friends?_" N thought to himself, as he picked Snivy up.

"I'll head back to Nacrene City now." N said.

"We're both going to Nacrene City, and here we both are, so how about we go together?" White asked.

N blinked in surprise. "You can tag along if you want." he said. "By the way, do you remember what the Team Plasma members that hurt Tepig looked like?

"Hmm, let's see...they both had orange hair, and blue eyes, and...a horrible sense of fashion, just like every Team Plasma member! Why do you ask?" she asked.

"I want to talk to them about it." N said.

White laughed. "Yeah, 'cause those guys are totally gonna listen to you of all people." she said.

"_Angie and Brad did that to Tepig? They couldn't have...why would such hono_rable _members of Team Plasma do that?" _N thought to himself.

_To be continued..._


	7. Chapter 7: Anthea vs Concordia

After having lost his battle against White, N and White decided to head back to Nacrene City together. Meanwhile, Anthea and Concordia battled to decide how they will train the Pokemon.

"Gothita, use Confusion!" commanded Anthea.

"Ralts, Double Team!" commanded Concordia. Ralts created a dozen fake copies of herself, causing Gothitas attack to only hit a few of the fakes.

"Not that move again..." complained Anthea. "Gothita, once more, use Confusion!" she commanded.

Gothita breathed heavily, sweating. The battle had been going on for quite some time, and both Pokemon were getting exhausted. Gothita had been attacking the whole time, but hadn't landed a single hit, while Ralts had been dodging the whole time, but hadn't attempted a single attack.

"Looks like fatigue is finally kicking in." said Concordia with a smile. "Now's your chance to strike! Ralts, use Confusion!" Ralts focused, then used her attack on Gothita.

"Finally stopped stalling have you?" asked Anthea. "Gothita, now! Mirror Coat!" she commanded. Gothita created a giant mirror, which bounced Ralts's attack right back at Ralts, twice as powerful and twice as fast.

"You always resort to Mirror Coat as a last resort." said Concordia. "Ralts, dodge it with Teleport!" commanded Concordia. Ralts breathed heavily, trying to teleport. She was too tired to consume that much energy. Then, the attack hit her, knocking her several feet back.

"Hah! We got you! Looks like all your stalling came back to bite you!" said Anthea cheerfully. She thought the battle was over.

"Ralts, are you still hanging in there?" asked Concordia. Ralts struggled, but managed to get back on her feet, panting.

"What? Nobody has every survived Mirror Coat before! Impossible!" cried Anthea. "Don't worry Gothita, she's still tired. Finished her off with Confusion!" she commanded.

"Ralts, Double Team!" cried Concordia. The attack approached Ralts, as Ralts continued breathing heavy, struggling to remain on her feet, then suddenly Ralts whole body was glowing white and changing shape.

"W-whats happening?" Anthea asked.

"Ralts is evolving!" cried Concordia happily.

Ralts body then stopped glowing, as she had completed her evolution. Her new appearance was several inches taller, and had two bright red horns on top of her head. She looked like a dancer in a white dress.

"This can't be good for us..." Anthea whispered.

"Now, Kirlia! End this with Magical Leaf!" commanded Concordia.

"Gothita, Mirror Coat!" cried Anthea.

Kirlia made several razor sharp leaves appear in the air, and sent them flying towards Gothita at full speed, but then Gothita put up the giant mirror, which bounced them back at Kirlia.

"Relying on Mirror Coat again? That won't work this time! Kirlia, Teleport behind Gothita!" shouted Concordia.

As the Magical Leaves flew back towards Kirlia, she suddenly teleported behind Gothita in the blink of an eye, avoiding the attack.

"There's one thing you should know about Magical Leaf. It doesn't stop coming until it hits something, like a boomerang." said Concordia smugly.

"What?!" cried Anthea.

The attack then came flying back at Gothita at full speed, landing a direct hit before Gothita had a chance to attempt dodging. Gothita fell to the ground, unable to get back up. The battle was over.

"I can't believe we actually lost!" cried Anthea, stomping her foot on the ground, then ran over to Gothita and healed her up with Potions.

"It's like I said earlier. You won't get far without a solid strategy." said Concordia, as she walked over to her little sister.

"Alright! You won fair and square! We'll train your way." said Anthea, admitting defeat.

Zorua then came over to them. He had watched the entire battle, and was now ready for his turn.

"_Are you going to train me now?_" he asked.

"Yes, Zorua. Thank you for remaining so patient." said Concordia, smiling at Zorua.

"_Great! How should we get started?_" Zorua asked, eager to start.

"Well, for now, you need a new battle strategy. You have the ability Illusion, but you've never actually made use of it."

"_So you're going to teach me how to use it?_" he asked.

"That's right. Illusion allows you to disguise yourself as anything, or anyone you have a clear vision of. If you use this in battle, it could allow you to hide, and catch your opponent off guard. You'll have to time it right if you want the best results." said Concordia.

"_But how do I do it? I've never transformed myself before!_" said Zorua.

"Remember Zorua, it's not a transformation, it's just an illusion. Your body will not actually change at all, but you will appear as someone or something else to those around you. Understand what I'm saying?" she asked.

"_Right. Got it._" Zorua nodded, though he was a bit confused.

"Good. Now try using it." said Concordia.

"_What? But you haven't told me how yet, and I don't know what you want me to make an illusion of!_" he said.

"Let's try something simple. Like...oh I know. Try making an illusion of Kirlia." she said.

"_Alright, but...how?_" he asked

"Focus, Zorua. Close your eyes. Empty your mind. Do not think of anything other than Kirlia." said Concordia, her eyes closed, trying to show Zorua what she meant.

"_Empty my mind..._" Zorua repeated, closing his eyes, trying not to think of anything other than Kirlia. A while later, he opened his eyes, then looked at himself.

"_It didn't work..._" he said.

Concordia giggled. "Oh, it worked perfectly." she said, looking at Zorua. His body looked exactly like Kirlias.

"_What? I don't look or feel any different!_" cried Zorua.

"Remember, Zorua. It's not a transformation. It doesn't actually change your body at all. It simply changes how you appear to others." said Concordia.

"_Oh! So I did it right!_" Zorua said happily. "_I did it, I did it!_"

"Since Illusion doesn't actually affect your body at all, you can't ever be positive that it worked unless someone let's you know, so when using it in battle, you'll just have to trust that you did it right." she said.

"_Don't worry, this is easy! I can't wait to show N_" said Zorua, as he returned to his normal appearance.

"You two bore me." said Anthea, sitting on the bench, crossing her legs, while reading one of her magazines, with Gothita sitting in her lap.

"Ignore her." Concordia said. "Okay, so now you need to get used to using Illusion in battle. You'll need to be able to do it quickly while your enemy is distracted, and you'll need to be confident that it worked."

Concordia continued training Zorua for about half an hour. Zorua had gotten a lot better at using his Illusion ability, and Concordia decided it was enough improvement to stop training for the day. Then, N came back, with White.

"N, you're finally back! I was dying of boredom with you gone!" said Anthea.

"What were you doing all that time? I was beginning to get worried." said Concordia.

"I wasn't gone that long." N said, scratching the back of his head.

"Now that I'm here, I'm going to go challenge the gym. See ya N, and thanks again!" said White, as she took off towards the gym.

"What did she mean by 'thanks again'? Concordia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I used some of the medicines your brought to heal Tepig. She told me her Tepig was attacked and Poisoned by Angie and Brad, but why would they do such a thing?" he asked.

"The two top ranked Team Plasma Grunts?" Anthea asked, as she walked over to N and Concordia.

"It couldn't have been them, that girl must not know what she's talking about, N." said Concordia.

N then noticed Kirlia. "Oh, I see Ralts has evolved." he said, as he sat on his knees and pet her. She smiled at his touch.

"Where's Zorua?" he asked, suddenly looking worried.

"_I'm right here, N!_" said Zorua, jumping into N's arms. N blinked in surprise. He had no idea where Zorua just came from.

"Zorua, where did you...?" N asked

"_I used my Illusion ability to disguise myself as a bench! You had no idea I was there, N!_" Zorua said happily.

"So you've mastered Illusion?" asked N.

"_That's right! Concordia taught me how to use it! I'm much more prepared for battle now!_"

"That's wonderful! Now when you battle, we can use Illusion to prevent you from taking any damage!" exclaimed N happily.

"Hey! I still never got to train Zorua!" said Anthea, crossing her arms. "Your strategy will do no good if you can't actually do any damage in return." she said.

"I hate to admit it, but she's right, N." said Concordia.

"So now you're going to put Zorua through more training? Don't you think he's done enough?" N asked, frowning.

Concordia looked up at the sky. "No, it's getting late. We should rent a room in the Pokemon Center, call it a night, then discuss this tomorrow." she said.

"Fine by me." he said, putting his hands into his pockets, as he and Anthea followed Concordia into the Pokemon Center.

Concordia rented a room in the Pokemon Center for the three to stay in over night. The next morning, N woke up early. He was ready to get his next gym battle out of the way. He stretched his arms, let out a yawn, and hopped out of the bed he slept in.

"Zorua, you woke?" he asked, looking around the room.

A few seconds later, Zorua, disguised as a pillow jumped into N's arms, then returned to his normal appearance.

"_You didn't know it was me! My ability works great, doesn't it N?_" said Zorua, climbing onto N's shoulder.

N laughed. "Indeed it does. I can see you're going to have fun with that ability." he said, stroking Zoruas fur.

"_I can't wait for our gym battle today, N! I'll do great, I know I will!_" said Zorua, confidently.

"We'd better wake up Anthea and Concordia." N said, looking over to the two other beds in the room, where his sisters slept.

_To be continued..._


	8. Chapter 8: Nacrene Gym

After a day full of training, Zorua was confident he would win his next battle. N was ready to get his second gym battle out of the way, but Concordia insisted that he eat breakfast first.

"N, are you sure you want to rush into this? We have plenty of time, there's no need why you need to challenge the gym right away. " asked Concordia, as the trio and their Pokemon ate their breakfast.

"Your Pokemon haven't exactly gotten any stronger since the first gym battle." said Anthea.

"Are you saying my friends are weak?" N asked.

"Of course not! But..." said Anthea, interrupted by N.

"Then there is no point in discussing this." he said, as he finished his food, then got up and started heading towards the gym.

"N, wait up!" shouted his sisters, catching up with him.

Once they arrived at the gym, they noticed that the inside looked like a museum. Then, a short man with black hair, wearing a gray suit and glasses approached them.

"Hello, welcome to the Nacrene City museum! I'm Hawes, the assistant director of this museum. What brings you here today?" he asked

"Hello. I am Concordia Harmonia." said Concordia, introducing herself. "And this is my sister, Anthea Harmonia, and my brother, N Harmonia. "We came here for a gym battle."

"Oh, all three of you?" asked Hawes.

"I'll be battling first." said N.

"Oh okay. Please, let me give you a tour of the museum first!" said Hawes, as he began showing them around the museum.

"But we didn't come here for..." said N, but was completely ignored.

"Right here we have the skeleton of a Dragon-type Pokemon!" he said, pointing to a giant skeleton with wings. It could only belong to some type of Dragon. "They say it had an accident while flying around the world, thus leading to it becoming a fossil."

"Say cheese mister dragon!" said Anthea. As she took out her camera and snapped the fossils picture.

"Next, we have this amazing rock! It's a meteorite! It contains energy from space!" he said, pointing to a big rock.

"Say cheese mister meteorite!" Anthea said, taking its picture.

As Hawes continued giving them the tour around the museum, N noticed a small, black rock on display. He felt massive energy coming from it, then it began to talk to him. N walked over to it.

"_So, the hero of truth has come...but where is the hero of ideals?_" asked the stone.

"Are you...talking to me?" N asked.

"_What is this truth you seek? Do you really think your truth can triumph over ideals?_" it asked

"You're the dark stone!" N whispered.

"_Once you officially become the hero of truth, I am sure a worthy hero will prove their self to me and become the hero of ideals. Then, we shall settle this once and for all._" said the stone.

"Zekrom...you must know where the light stone is! Please tell me! Where is it?" N asked, but got no response.

"Don't go silent on me!" N asked, banging on the glass. Anthea and Concordia then noticed that N had strayed from the tour.

"N? What have you found there?" asked Concordia, as they walked over to him.

"Hey, careful! If you break anything, you'll be paying for any damage!" shouted Hawes.

"This stone, where did you find it? Is there another one like it here too?" N asked in a very fast voice.

"Oh, that? It's just an ordinary old stone. It was found near the desert, and we decided to display it because it's pretty to look at." said Hawes.

"But is there another one like it?" N asked again.

"Not that I've ever seen. Anyway, back to the tour!" Hawes said, leading them back on tour.

"Goodbye, ordinary old stone!" said Anthea, taking the stones picture. Hawes them lead them to a staircase at the back of the museum.

"The gym is just beyond here. The Gym Leader, Lenora just so happens to be my wife. Good luck!" he said.

N and his sisters walked down the staircase, where they found a tall lady with dark skin and blue hair ,wearing a big pink apron.

"Welcome! I'm the director of the Nacrene City museum, and also the gym leader! Which of you three is here to challenge me?" she asked.

"That would be me." said N, as he walked onto the battlefield.

"Well then, shall we begin? Go, Herdier!" she said, sending out a Pokemon that looked like a big dog, with a coat of blue fur on its back, and a big light brown mustache on its face.

"_N, let me start off this battle!_" said Zorua, hopping off of N's shoulder, ready to fight.

"Alright, here are the rules of this battle. First off, you may use however many Pokemon you have with you. Second, you may switch your Pokemon out for another at free will. Third, a trainer may not getting physically involved with the battle. Lastly, have fun and good luck! You're gonna need it!" she said. "And now, let the battle begin!"

"Alright, Zorua, start things off with Faint Attack!" commanded N.

Zorua clocked himself in pure darkness, charging at Herdier, then threw a nasty sucker punch at her, which knocked Herdier off her feet.

"Herdier, get up and use Take Down!" commanded Lenora. Herdier got right up, then threw herself at Zorua.

"Zorua, dodge!" commanded N.

Zorua rolled to the side, avoiding Herdiers attack. Herdier missed her target, causing her to land hard on the ground, creating a huge impact that knocked dust everywhere. Zorua knew without being told that this was the perfect chance to use Illusion. He disguised himself as Snivy. Snivy noticed, then hopped off of N's head, hiding outside of the battlefield.

"Oh, decided to switch your Pokemon have you?" asked Lenora. "Herdier, use Bite!" she commanded.

Herdier bared her fangs, charging towards Zorua.

"Dodge and use Fury Swipes!" N commanded.

"What? Snivy can't learn that move!" said Lenora, confused.

Zorua dodged to the side, then ran behind Herdier, slashing her back several times. Herdier howled in pain.

"Herdier, return!" shouted Lenora, as she tried to return Herdier to her Pokeball, to switch her out for another Pokemon.

"I don't think so! Use Pursuit, now!" commanded N.

Zorua cancelled out the power of Lenoras Pokeball, then slashed Herdiers back one more very hard time. Herdier howled in pain once again, then fell down, defeated.

"Zorua did it!" said Anthea, as she and Concordia watched the battle.

"Yes, but the battle isn't over yet." said Concordia.

"_N! I did it! I won! I won!_" exclaimed Zorua happily.

"Zorua, behind you!" cried N. Zorua looked behind him and saw that Lenora had already sent out her next Pokemon. The Pokemon looked like a chipmunk, with two puffy cheeks, yellow and red eyes that looked made for hypnotizing, and brown and yellow fur that made it look like she was wearing a life jacket. The Pokemon was already charging at Zorua, then kicked him in the back, knocking him several feet back. Zorua was defeated.

"Zorua!" cried N, picking Zorua up. Snivy then hopped onto the battlefield, taking Zorua's place.

"Watchog, use Hypnosis!" commanded Lenora.

"Snivy, dodge and use Growth!" commanded N.

Watchog sent mesmerizing beams out of her eyes towards Snivy, which Snivy ducked under, then caused his body to glow yellow, increasing his attack power.

"Snivy, now, use Attract!" commanded N.

Snivy blew multiple kisses towards Watchog, all which hit, causing her to fall in love with Snivy.

"Watchog, snap out of it and use Hypnosis!" commanded Lenora, but it was no good.

"Snivy now, use Growth once more!" N commanded. Snivys body glowed even more this time, doubling his attack power.

"Watchog, Hypnosis! Now!" commanded Lenora.

"Snivy, Vine Whip!" N commanded.

"While Snivy began creating two giant whips made out of vines, Watchog suddenly came back to her senses, sending the mesmerizing beams at Snivy, putting him to sleep.

"Now Watchog, use Retaliate!" Lenora commanded.

"Snivy! Wake up!" cried N

Watchog charged at Snivy, then kicked him in the face, knocking him several feet back. Snivy remained asleep.

"Snivy, wake up or you'll get hit again!" cried N.

"Now, Watchog, finish this with Crunch!" commanded Lenora.

Watchog ran towards Snivy, with her mouth wide opened, ready to bite into Snivy. Snivy got up, then began glowing white and changing shape. Watchog stopped her attack, blinking in surprise.

"Snivy...?" N asked.

Snivy then stopped glowing, and had now evolved into a Servine.

"An evolution at a time like this? Impressive!" said Lenora.

"Alright, Servine, lets finish this with Leaf Storm!" commanded N

"Watchog, put him back to sleep with Hypnosis!" commanded Lenora.

Servine created a giant tornado made out of leaves, which was twice the size of a normal Leaf Tornado, do to Servine having used Growth twice already. Watchog then sent the mesmerizing beams at Servine, but they were instantly blown away by the tornado, which quickly hit Watchog, defeating her in one hit. The battle was over.

"Yes! N won!" said Anthea, standing up, clapping.

"On top of that, Snivy evolved too. Excellent." said Concordia with a smile.

"Servine, you did it." said N, hugging Servine.

"I must say I am impressed!" said Lenora, as she walked over to N, holding the badge in her hand. "Take the Basic Badge, you've earned it!." she said.

N held up the badge in the air, examining it. It was a simple rectangle with gold sides and edges, and the inside purple. Very basic indeed.

"_Two badges...six more and I'm qualified for the Pokemon League._" N thought to himself.

"Now it's my turn!" said Anthea , as she and Concordia walked over to N.

"Hold on, if you two want to battle me too, you're going to have to come back in half an hour. I've got things to do at the museum." said Lenora, as she left the gym.

"I guess we'll just wait then." said Concordia, as the three left the gym.

The trio left the gym and went to the Pokemon Center to get Servine and Zorua healed up. When they left the Pokemon Center, they could hear a familiar voice singing.

"_Don't wanna be sly and defile you_

_Desecrate my mind and rely on you_

_I just wanna break this crown_

_But it's hard when I'm so run down_

The voice sounded as if it was coming closer.

"I know that voice, it's...it's her!" N shouted.

The mysterious trainer that stole N's skateboard then zoomed towards them, riding a circle around them on the skateboard, as she continued singing her song.

"_And you're so cynical, Narcissistic Cannibal!_

_Got to bring myself back from the dead!_

_Sometimes, I hate, the life, I made_

_Everything's wrong every time_

_Pushing on I can't escape"_

Zorua bared his fangs and barked at her like a wild dog. N gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists. The mysterious trainer then rode off, finishing her song.

"_Everything that comes my way_

_Is haunting me taking its sweet time_

_Holding on I'm lost in a haze_

_Fighting life to the end of my days_"

Zorua jumped off N's shoulder, running after her.

"Don't let her get away!" shouted N, as he ran off after, Anthea and Concordia following.

_To be continued..._.


	9. Chapter 9: Mysterious Trainer returns

As N and his sisters continued chasing the mysterious trainer, she began singing another song.

"_Carry on my wayward son_

_There'll be peace when you are done_

_Lay your weary head to rest_

_Don't you cry no more"_

They continued chasing her all over the city, then she stopped a staircase.

"Now's our chance!" shouted N, picking up his pace.

They didn't think she'd be able to ride down the stairs, but they were wrong. She jumped on top of the rails, grinding down them on the skateboard, then landed at the bottom, finishing her song.

"_Ah_

_Once I rose above the noise and confusion_

_Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion_

_I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high_"

"You got to be kidding me!" said Anthea, hands on her knees and panting.

"Don't stop going after her!" cried N

The trio then ran down the stairs as fast as they could, bumping and tripping over each other, then made it to the bottom.

"We...we finally got you!" N said through heavy breathes.

"Aww, I'm so happy that you missed me." she said with a giggle.

"Quit playing around! Give my brothers skateboard back right now!" demanded Concordia.

"Pardon me, belle fille, however, what if I do not?" asked the mysterious girl.

"Then we'll take it back by force!" said Anthea.

"So, you three want to battle me?" asked the mysterious girl.

N and Zorua both gritted their teeth at her. "You two just watch! This is my fight." said N to his sisters.

"No, N. This is OUR fight." said Concordia.

"Oh it's perfectly fine, I would enjoy battling all three of you at once." said the mysterious girl.

"Then the time for talking is over!" said N.

Zorua began barking at the girl like a wild dog, a blood thirsty look in his eyes. Kirlia and Gothita stood by his sides, ready for battle.

"Shall we begin, then? Go, Wailord." she said. The sky began to darken, but there was no Pokemon in sight.

"W-Where is your Pokemon?" asked Anthea, the fear clear on her face.

"Up there!" exclaimed Concordia, pointing up in the sky.

They all looked up in the sky, and noticed that the darkness in the sky was the shadow of a gigantic Pokemon. It was the shape of a huge, black oval.

"Mother of Arceus..." said N, taking a step back.

"How are we supposed to hit that?" Anthea asked.

'Wailord, Ice Beam, please." commanded the mysterious trainer.

A huge beam of ice quickly shot out of the sky, going towards Gothita.

"Gothita, Mirror Coat!" commanded Anthea.

Gothita created a big mirror to deflect the attack, but it was no good. Wailords attack shattered the mirror, knocking Gothita several feet back. She was unable to continue battling just like that.

"Gothita!" cried Anthea, running to her Pokemon and picking her up.

N and Concordias eyes widened at the sight of how easy their sister was beaten, knowing they would be next. They were speechless.

"Again, Wailord. Ice Beam, please." commanded the mysterious trainer.

Wailord sent out another beam of ice towards Kirlia.

"Kirlia, Teleport!" commanded Concordia.

Kirlia teleported five feet away, thinking she had avoided the attack, but turned around and saw that Wailords attack was still coming, and coming fast. Before she had a chance to do anything else, the attack hit, leaving Kirlia unconscious.

"Kirlia!" cried Concordia, picking her Pokemon up.

Zorua gasped, then looked up at Wailord, baring his fangs at it. He wasn't ready to give up. Zorua then began climbing and jumping on tall buildings and trees until he was close enough to see Wailords face.

"Zorua...?" N asked. He didn't even give him any commands.

"_I will defeat you!_" screamed Zorua, jumping off of a very tall building, claws extended and fangs bared, going towards Wailords face.

"Wailord, Hydro Pump, please." commanded the mysterious trainer.

As Zorua got close to Wailord, Wailord blasted him with a giant gush of water, knocking him out and causing him to quickly fall to the ground.

"Zoura!" cried N, his eyes filled with tears. He ran to where Zorua was falling, then caught him in his arms before he could hit the ground. The battle was over.

"Wailord, return, please." she said, returning her Pokemon to its Pokeball.

The mysterious trainer then noticed Servine standing next to N.

"Oh but N, you have one more Pokemon in fighting condition. Aren't you going to let it fight?" she asked.

N looked from Zorua, to his sisters, to Servine, then at the mysterious trainer.

"No...I don't want my friends getting hurt." he said, shaking his head.

"Giving up so easily?" she asked with a giggle.

N didn't respond. He sat on the ground, cradling Zorua. Anthea and Concordia got up and walked over to him, placing their hands on his shoulders. The mysterious trainer approached them, holding the skateboard, giggling.

"Send your other Pokemon out to battle." she said.

N looked up at her, then back at the ground. Concordia stepped in front of him.

"Leave him alone." she said, trying not to let her eyes water.

"Why should I?" asked the mysterious trainer, giggling.

Anthea then stepped in front of N, standing next to Concordia. "She said leave him alone." she said, making no attempt to hide the tears in her eyes.

"And I said why should I?" repeated the mysterious trainer.

N looked into Servines eyes. His Pokemon clearly did not want to have the same fate as the others. He then stood.

"I'll fight!" he shouted.

"Oh, you've decided to let your Pokemon battle?" she asked

"No. I said I will fight you! Leave my friends out of this!" shouted N.

"N are you crazy?!" asked Concordia, still trying to hide her tears. She didn't want to look weak in front of her little brother and sister.

"Please, N... you don't have to do that!" cried Anthea, through many sobs.

"I will protect my friends no matter what the cost." said N confidently, as he walked past his sisters and to the mysterious trainer.

"You're certainly a bold one. Go, Altaria." the mysterious trainer sent out a strange, cloud-like creature, with a long, yellow neck and wings that looked like clouds.

"I won't back down!" shouted N.

"Altaria, Dragon Claw, please." she commanded.

Altaria extended its claws, flying towards N. N gritted his teeth, then crossed his arms and raised them in front of his body, to defend from Altarias attack. He shut his eyes closed tight.

"N!" Anthea and Concordia both cried.

Altaria continued coming towards N, but then when it was just a few inches away, the mysterious trainer called it off.

"Altaria, return." she said, returning her Pokemon to its Pokeball, before it hit N.

"Jumpluff, Sleep Powder, please." she commanded. Suddenly, a round, blue, plant-like creature, with two nub-like legs, and three cotton puffs protruding from its body appeared out of the bushes, flew towards N, then sprayed a green powder N. Within seconds, N fall asleep.

"N!" cried his sisters, running over to his sides. Concordia put his head in her lap, slowly cradling him. She let her tears fall.

"Please...don't hurt him." said Concordia, looking up at the mysterious trainer.

The mysterious trainer smiled an evil smile and giggled. "Go, Gengar." she said, sending out a small, purple, shadow-like Pokemon, with pointy ears, short arms and legs, and red eyes.

"Gengar, use Nightmare, please." she commanded.

Gengar laughed, sending out a black mist towards N, then the mist disappeared around N's head. A short while later, N began thrashing around on the ground, occasionally screaming. Anthea and Concordia shook him, trying to wake him up.

"N! N, please wake up!" they cried.

"Return, Gengar, please." she said, returning Gengar back to its Pokeball. Jumpluff flew off somewhere. She then rode away on N's skateboard, singing.

"_I feel so unsure_

_As I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor_

_As the music dies_

_Something in your eyes_

_Calls to mind a silver screen_

_And all of the sad goodbyes_

_I'm never going to dance again_

_These guilty feet have got no rhythm_

_Though it's easy to pretend_

_I know you're not a fool_

_I should have known better than to cheat a friend_

_A wasted chance that I've been given_

_So I'm never going to dance again..._

_The way I danced with you..._"

And with that, she was gone. Anthea and Concordia continued trying to wake N, their faces streaked with tears, but it was doing no good. He continued thrashing around and screaming. He was having a nightmare.

_To be continued..._


	10. Chapter 10: Nightmare

_N sat in his room, with a blank expression on his face, watching his airplane fly in circles. Anthea and Concordia were in his room, trying to keep him entertained. They seemed to be about five, six, and seven at the time. _

"_Don't you want to play something, N?" asked Anthea, looking through N's toy-box, trying to find something he'd want to play with them. N gave her no answer._

"_Maybe you'd like to hear a story?" asked Concordia, sitting down a stack of books she bought into N's room. N loved it when his sister read stories to him, but he didn't seem interested today._

"_Don't you want to do anything today, N?" asked Anthea. N then stopped watching his airplane and looked at his sisters._

"_Why am I not allowed to leave my room?" he asked._

_Concordia sighed. "N, I've told you many times. It's because father says so." she said_

"_But why?" he asked. _

"_Because he wants to keep you safe." she said._

"_But Connie, you and Annie are allowed to leave your room. If I'm not allowed to leave my room to keep me safe, why are you two allowed to leave your rooms? Does father not want to keep you safe too?" he asked. He was a very persistent child._

"_Dammit N..." she thought to herself. She couldn't counter that if her life depended on it._

"_He has a point, Concordia. It isn't fair that he's shut in here all day, while we're allowed to leave our rooms." said Anthea._

"_See? Annie knows I'm right. So why not let me leave my room?" he asked._

"_N, we can't just go against fathers orders. What if we get caught?" asked Concordia._

"_Don't be so bossy, Concordia!" exclaimed Anthea._

"_You're outnumbered two to one, Connie." said N. "So, can we? Please?" he asked, sitting in her lap, making an impossibly cute face._

"_Aww! How can you say no to a face like that?" said Anthea._

"_Fine! But if we get caught, don't say I didn't warn you!" exclaimed Concordia. She was not pleased with this at all._

"_So, where would you like to go, N?" asked Anthea, as they began leaving N's room._

"_Anywhere other than here. I want to explore the castle." he said._

_The three kids left N's room, but before they got far, they saw a door open, then Ghetsis came out. _

"_So, my dear children, you dare revolt against my orders." he said, as he shut his door._

_As Ghetsis approached the kids, they stepped back in fear. They had been caught, just like Concordia said they would be. _

"_W-We're sorry father!" stuttered Anthea._

_Ghetsis ignored her, stooped down, and hit N in the face with the back of his fist. He hit him so hard, N was knocked several feet back and crashed into the wall. _

"_N!" cried Anthea and Concordia. _

_Ghetsis continued approaching N. He wasn't even close to done. Anthea ran over to N, cradling his head in her lap. Concordia stepped in front of N, ready to protect him._

"_Please, father! Don't hurt him!" she cried._

"_Would you like to suffer your fate first?" he asked._

"_Please, father! It's not his fault! It was my idea to let him leave his room, he was only listening to me!" she cried._

"_No it wasn't!" cried N and Anthea at the same time. _

"_It's okay, you two." said Concordia, looking at her little brother and sister with a weak smile. "I don't want you two trying to take the blame for me." she said._

_N and Anthea's eyes widened in shock. They couldn't believe their sister was taking the blame for them. There's no telling what their father might do to her. Ghetsis was not pleased._

"_To think I always thought you were a responsible girl." said Ghetsis, dragging her into his room, slamming the door behind him._

"N! Wake up! Please wake up!" cried Anthea and Concordia.

N's eyes slowly opened. His sisters screams had finally awakened him. N looked around him. He was in bed, in a room in the Pokemon Center. He sat up, then immediately threw up. His sisters were sitting on the bed with him, so his vomit got all over Anthea.

"Sorry..." he said.

"I guess I should've been prepared for that." she said, trying to wipe it off her clothes, but it was way too much. She was going to need a complete change of clothes.

"N, are you alright?" asked Concordia, placing her hand on his forehead.

"I'm fine, I think. What happened? Wasn't I attacked by Altaria?" he asked.

"You were put to sleep by a Jumpluff, then a Gengar used Nightmare on you. You were screaming and thrashing around the whole time you were sleep. Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine now, I think." he said. "_Nightmare...that explains my dream._" he thought to himself.

"What were you dreaming about anyway? You really scared me." asked Anthea.

N certainly didn't want to remind them of that day. "I...I don't really remember." he lied.

_Meanwhile, back in the Nacrene City Museum..._

Angie, Brad, Mei, and three other Team Plasma Grunts were in the museum, surrounding the dragon fossil. White and Lenora stood side by side, ready to fight them off.

"Hold up! Enough fooling around!" said Lenora.

"So you've decided to come, Gym Leader." said Brad.

"We, Team Plasma, claim this museums Dragon Skull in the name of Pokemon liberation!" exclaimed Mei.

"That skull weighs over 600 pounds! You can't seriously intend on getting it out of here!" said Lenora.

"Oh but we are. To show you how serious we are, we'll steal it right before your eyes! Now, everyone, use your smoke balls! " said Angie.

"Plasma! Plasma! Plasma!" shouted all six Team Plasma Grunts at once, as they they each threw a smoke ball. As soon as the smoke balls touched the floor, the entire museum was covered in smoke. When the smoke disappeared a few minutes later, the skull and each Team Plasma Grunt where nowhere to be found.

"They're gone!" cried White.

"What the hell is going on?!" asked Lenora, as she ran out of the museum as fast as she could. White ran off after her.

Outside the gym, White and Lenora found a man with brown hair, wearing a pink scarf, green shirt, and tight, red pants, with dark and light green stripes.

"Good day, Lenora! Find any good fossils lately?" he asked.

"This is a surprise visit! Are you suffering from artist's block again?" she asked. "Oh, White, this is Burgh. He's the Castelia City Gym Leader." she explained.

"Eh? Nah, just looking for a change of pace." he said. "Seems about hectic around here. Whats up?" he asked.

"What's up? Some freaks just ran off with an exhibit, that's what!" she shouted.

Then, Bianca and Cheren came.

"Oh, hi White! What's going on here?" asked Bianca.

"Some kind of problem show up?" asked Cheren.

"Team Plasma just stole an exhibit from the museum!" said White.

"And you two are...?" asked Lenora.

"Oh! I'm Bianca, White's friend!" said Bianca.

"And I'm Cheren." said Cheren. "So, what's the plan for retrieving this exhibit?" he asked.

"We'll have to split up. I'll search back on Route 3, Cheren, Bianca, you two guard the museum incase they come back, and White, you and Burgh search in Pinwheel Forest. I'm counting on all of you! " said Lenora, as she ran off.

"So all we have to do is watch the museum incase those guys come back, right?" said Cheren, as and Bianca went inside.

"Right, White, was it? Ready to round up these robbers?" he asked.

"Heck yeah!" she exclaimed, following burgh to the forest.

_To be continued..._


	11. Chapter 11: Pinwheel Forest

N had recovered from his nightmare, the Pokemon recovered from their battle against the mysterious trainer, and Anthea had changed out of the clothes that N vomited on. She now wore a pink shirt and a white skirt. The trio was now headed to Pinwheel Forest.

"If we keep heading west, we'll be there in no time." said Concordia, studying the map.

"There's sure to be lots of Grass and Bug-type Pokemon in a forest. Maybe we should bring some with us? We'll need more Pokemon if we want to win future battles." said Anthea.

"We can't just take Pokemon out of their natural habitats. What if those Pokemon have families?" asked N.

"N, I didn't mean..." said Anthea

"You're both right. In the Pokemon League, you can expect trainers to be using six Pokemon. We can't let anyone have a numbers advantage on us, but we also can't just force Pokemon to come with us." said Concordia.

"I'm assuming this is the place." said N, pointing to an opening between two giant trees. Inside they could see plenty more trees, and a lot of grass.

_Meanwhile, inside the forest..._

"Damn, I can't find Team Plasma anywhere. Why did Burgh have to suggest we search in different spots? I've never been here before!" complained White, looking around. All she could see was trees, grass, and Pokemon.

Then, suddenly, she could hear voices. They weren't very close, but close enough to make them out.

"Angie, come on! Please let us take a break, this is exhausting!" said the voice of a Team Plasma Grunt.

"I don't care how tired you are! We need to get this skull out of here before any intruders show up!" exclaimed Angie.

"Ha! I got you thieves now!" said White, running off in the direction she heard the voices.

After about ten minutes of running, White finally decided she was going in circles. All she could see was more trees, more grass, and more Pokemon.

"Where could they be? I swear I heard their voices coming from here!" she said, pounding her fist on a tree in frustration.

Terrible idea. A flock of pidove flew out of the tree at her.

"Yikes!" she screamed.

She tried to run away from the Pokemon as fast as she could, but birds can fly way faster than a teenage girl can run. They flew around her head, pecking at her head, neck, and shoulders.

"Ouch! Stop, please! Sorry! Ouch!" she cried, trying to block the attacks of the Pokemon, but it was no use.

"It's okay, my friends." said a male voice.

White looked up, and saw N standing in front of her, talking to the Pidove that were attacking her.

"White is not a threat to you. She didn't mean to disturb your sleep. Please, leave her alone and return to your tree in peace." N said, smiling at the Pokemon.

The Pokemon stopped attacking her, then flew back into their tree. N then looked down at white, and smiled at her.

"It seems our paths have crossed once again. Are you alright?" he asked.

"N? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'm headed to Castelia City to win my third gym badge, of course. Why are you here? I thought you'd have been to Castelia City already." said N.

"I'm chasing Team Plasma!" exclaimed White.

"Huh? Team Plasma?" N asked, with a surprised expression on his face.

"Yeah, those freaking hypocrites stole a dragon skull from the museum." she said.

"Why would Team Plasma steal a skull?" N asked, confused.

"I don't know, but they just barged into the museum and walked off with it." said White.

"Maybe I can help." N said.

"How are you going to do that? I've been looking for them for half an hour, and I haven't found a single one of them!" she said.

"I'll ask some friends for help." he said.

N then closed his eyes, and stretched his arms out to his sides. He stayed in that position for several minutes, with his hair blowing in the wind. White thought he looked silly.

"N, what the hell are you doing?" she asked.

"They're here!" he exclaimed, opening his eyes.

"Who's here?" asked White, confused.

Then, three Pokemon came over to them. They had a brown body covered in huge muscles, pink veins on its arms and chest, a big, red nose, and they were each holding a giant brick. They were Gurdurr.

"Hello, my friends." said N, smiling at the three Pokemon. "I need your help. Do you think you can look for a big, gray skull? If you find it, please return it to the Nacrene City museum. Also, if you find anyone dressed in gray and white clothes with the logo of a P, let me or this girl here know, okay?" said N, pointing to White.

The three Pokemon then went off in different directions, in search of the skull.

"N, how did you do that?" White asked in surprise.

"Not only can I talk to Pokemon, I can also connect my heart to theirs, as well as understand the feelings deep inside their hearts."

"Really?" White asked.

"Anyway, you should get back to searching." said N, as he walked away.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going? Aren't you going to stay to help me?" she asked.

"I can't. I need to get back to my sisters. We came in here together, but I ran off to help you when I heard you screaming." he said.

White blushed. "Uh...thanks. Well, see ya then." she said, as she went off, continuing her search.

N decided to climb up a tree, being careful not to disturb any Pokemon. When he got to the top, he had a good view of a large portion of the forest. After a short while of looking around, he could see his sisters. He could also see Team Plasma, but they weren't on the top of his list right now. He climbed down the tree, then walked off in the direction where he saw his sisters, then caught up with them after about five minutes.

"N! There you are!" said Anthea, embracing N in a big hug.

"Where were you? You can't just take off like that!" exclaimed Concordia.

N noticed two Pokemon with them that weren't there before. One was small, with brown skin, orange eyes, and had a bunch of long, fluffy cotton for hair. It was a Whimsicott. The other resembled a female human, with a flower petal dress, leaves for arms, and a flower that looked like a crown on its round head. N decided to use this opportunity to dodge Concordias question.

"Where did these Pokemon come from?" he asked.

"They found us, and started following us around. I guess they want to come with us." said Concordia.

"They're cute, too, and I'm sure they pack a punch in battle! Lucky, isn't it? " said Anthea.

"But N, where did you run off to earlier?" asked Concordia again.

"Oh, uh, I heard screaming, and I went to check it out." said N.

"Screaming? What did you find?" asked Anthea.

"A flock of Pidove attacking White. She hit their tree, which disturbed their sleep." N said.

"What was she doing here? Shouldn't she be in Castelia by now?" asked Concordia.

"She said she was chasing Team Plasma. They stole the dragon skull from the museum, according to White." he said.

"What? Why would they do that?" she asked.

"I don't know, I was wondering the same thing. We should try to find them and find out." he said.

"But we don't know where they are." said Anthea.

"I got a birds eye view from on top of one of the trees. I saw them at the end of the forest." said N.

"Well, I suppose we have time to talk to them." said Concordia.

"Let's get going then." said N, as they then went off to the end of the forest.

_Meanwhile..._

"I've finally got you! Now, tell me where the skull is! " exclaimed White.

White had finally found one of the Team Plasma Grunts. The one she found happened to be Mei, who was on guard duty.

"I can't give you that information. That skull is going to be the key to making our king the hero of this world!" said Mei.

"Then I'll beat it out of you! Go, Tepig!" said White, sending Tepig out of her Pokeball.

"You've made a big mistake to challenge me. Go, Serperior!" said Mei, sending out her Pokemon. It was a giant snake-like Pokemon with dark green skin on its back, light green skin on its stomach, yellow stripes on its body, a white face, and red eyes.

"Tepig, Flame Charge!" commanded White.

"Serperior, dodge and use Wring Out!" commanded Mei.

Tepigs body became engulfed in flames, as she charged towards Serperior at full speed, but Serperior swiftly slide behind Tepig, then wrapped its long body around her, squeezing all the energy out of her. Tepig screamed in pain.

"Tepig, force it off you with Ember!" cried White.

Tepig blew sparks of fire at Serperior, which forced Serperior to let go of her, hissing in pain.

"Serperior, finish this with Leaf Blade!" commanded Mei.

"Tepig, take it head on and use Flame Charge!" commanded White.

Serperior created a giant sword made out of leaves, held it in its mouth, and swung it down on Tepig. At the exact same time, Tepig crashed into Serperior, hitting it with Flame Charge. Both Pokemon fell to the ground, defeated.

"Tepig, return!"

"Serperior, return!

Both girls returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs.

"This isn't over yet! Go, Amoonguss!" cried Mei, sending out a small Pokemon that looked like a mushroom. It had two skinny arms, hands that looked like Pokeballs, and the top of its head also looked like a Pokeball.

"I'm not finished yet either! Go, Scolipede!" cried White, sending out a huge Pokemon that looked like a centipede, with pink skin, a pattern of purple rings and stripes across its body, yellow eyes, eight tiny nubs for arms, and two horns on its ahead.

_To be continued..._


	12. Chapter 12: Pinwheel Forest pt 2

"Scolipede, use Megahorn!" commanded White.

"Amoonguss, dodge it!" commanded Mei.

Scolipede's horns glowed green, then it tucked in its head, and charged at Amoonguss at full speed. Amoonguss dodged to the side, just barely avoiding the attack. Scolipede crashed into a tree, which its horns got stuck in.

"Scolipede!" cried White, as her Pokemon tried to free its horns, to no avail.

"Now Amoonguss, use Body Slam!" commanded Mei.

"Scolipede, get out of there!" cried White.

Scolipede continued trying to free its horns from the tree, but then Amoonguss jumped into the air, and landed on Scolipede, with a huge impact. The impact was so huge, it knocked Scolipede off its feet, freeing its horns.

"Scolipede, again, use Megahorn!" commanded White.

"Amoonguss, use Spore!" commanded Mei.

Scolipede tucked in its head and charged at full speed towards Amoonguss again, with its horns glowing, but this time, when it was a few feet away from Amoonguss, Amoonguss sprayed a strange yellow powder at Scolipede. Scolipedes pace slowed then, then when it was about a foot away from Amoonguss, it stopped moving completely, and fell asleep.

"Now Amoonguss, once again, use Body Slam!" commanded Mei.

"Scolipede, wake up!" cried White.

Amoonguss body slammed Scolipede once more. Once again, Scolipede fell off its feet, the side.

"Your Pokemon won't be able to take another hit. You may as well give up now." said Mei.

"Shut up!" exclaimed White. "Scolipede, come on! Wake up!" she cried.

"If you give up now, your Pokemon won't have to get hurt anymore." said Mei.

"What's going on here?" asked a male voice.

The two girls looked to the side in surprise. N and his sisters had found them.

"N! It's about time you showed up!" said White, happy to see him.

"M-my Lo-" stuttered Mei. N placed his hand on her mouth, shutting her up. She almost blew his cover. She blushed at his touch.

N had a lot of questions to ask Mei, but he had to choose his words carefully, as he didn't want to revela his true identity to White.

"Tell me. Did Team Plasma take a skull from the museum, and bring it here?" he asked, looking into her eyes.

Mei nodded. She couldn't talk, with N's hand over her mouth. She looked scared out of her mind.

"And where is it?" he asked.

She pointed to the east.

"Are there more members of Team Plasma there?" he asked.

Once again, she nodded.

"Tell them to leave the skull exactly where it is. Your mission is canceled. I'll get the skull back to the museum." he said, taking his hand off of her mouth.

"I-I'm sor-" she tried to apologize, but N quickly covered her mouth again.

N looked into her eyes, then shook his head, then let go. She then returned her Pokemon to its Pokeball, and ran off.

"Are you alright?" asked N, walking over to White.

"I'm fine. What was that all about though? She looked like she saw a ghost when you came, and you're certainly not an intimidating guy." said White.

N knew he had to make something up. "Well, I guess she knew she couldn't win with the numbers in our favor." he said.

"But she could just call on the rest of the Team Plasma members, right?" asked White.

"Well..." said N, thinking of a way to dodge her questions. Luckily, Concordia saved him the trouble.

"We can all talk later. Right now we need to find the skull." said Concordia.

"She's right. We'd better get a move on." said N.

They then went off in the direction that Mei had pointed towards. After a while of walking, they finally found the dragon skull. Angie, Brad, and three other Team Plasma Grunts stood in front of it, along with a Seviper and Magnezone. Burgh was also there He was returning a Pokemon to it's Pokeball. Apparently, he was defeated.

"Burgh!" screamed White, running over to his side.

"Another intruder?" asked Angie, in an annoyed tone.

"You've finally made it, White. Things aren't looking good for us, unfortunately." he said.

"Don't worry, we'll finish these guys off, now that we have the help of-" she said, pointing to where she thought N was, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Where did he go? Dammit, N! Don't leave me to fight these guys on my own again!" she shouted.

N and his sisters had purposely strayed behind when they knew White wouldn't notice. They knew if they confronted Team Plasma, they would call N "Lord N", which would blow his cover. They needed a plan.

"This isn't good. White is outnumbered over there." said N.

"Yeah, but there's no way you can silence all five of them, N." said Anthea. "What's the plan, Concordia?" she asked.

N and Anthea both looked up at their sister, clearly expecting her to have a plan.

"I don't know, just let me think, let me think..." she said, massaging her temples.

"You mean you DON'T have a plan, for once in your life?" asked Anthea.

Concordia then glanced back, then quickly pushed N and Anthea behind nearby bushes and then jumped behind the bushes with them.

"Ouch! What the heck was that about?" asked Anthea, rubbing her bottom.

"Quiet! Look, over there!" whispered Concordia, pointing out of the bushes.

The three peeked out of the bushes, being careful to remain hidden. They saw Gorm, one of the seven sages heading in the direction where Team Plasma was. They followed him, still being careful to remain hidden. Then, he arrived at the location of the skull.

"Greetings, fellow subjects of the king." he said to the grunts.

"Gorm of the Seven Sages!" said all five grunts at once, bowing to the sage, as he walked over to them.

Then, Lenora came running over to Burgh and Whites side.

"Burgh! White! I see you've found their little hideout. And who's that guy supposed to be? Is he the big boss?" she asked, pointing to Gorm.

"Hello there, Gym Leader of Nacrene City, and Gym Leader of Castelia City. It seems that there has been a little misunderstanding here." he said calmly.

"Misunderstanding? You're minions here stole an expensive exhibit! That's straight up robbery! Unless you want the police involved in this, I suggest you hand it over right now!" said Lenora.

"This skull does not belong to the legendary Pokemon which Team Plasma seeks. It is completely unrelated. You may take it back. We, however, shall not tolerate anyone interfering with Team Plasma's goals. If we did not have another mission to get to right away, I would fix it so that you are unable to interfere with us ever again. I bid you farewell." he said, as he then walked away, the grunts returning their Pokemon and following him.

"Well, it seems that luck was on our side today." said Burgh.

"Now we need to get it all the way back to the museum though. How do you suppose we do that?" asked Lenora.

"I can help with that." said N, as he and his sisters came out of their hiding spot.

"N! NOW you decide to show up?!" shouted White, as she ran towards him, and threw her fist at him, which Concordia instantly caught.

"You wouldn't do that if you know what's good for you." said Concordia, pushing White to the ground.

N laughed at them, then walked forward, then closed his eyes, stretching is arms out to the sides. He was calling over the Gurdurr from earlier.

"White, you know these kids?" asked Burgh.

"Yeah, that's N, and those are his stupidly over protective sisters." said White, as she got back to her feet.

"What's he doing?" asked Lenora.

"He's a freak. A freak with super powers." said White, grinning. Concordia approached her.

"Insult my brother again and see where that gets you." she said. Concordia was quite tall for a girl, around six feet tall, so her threats are not to be took lightly.

"They're here!" exclaimed N, opening his eyes.

Just like that, the three Gurdurr came over to N.

"Hello again, my friends. We've found the skull, may you please return it to the museum now?" he asked, smiling at the Pokemon. The three Gurdurr nodded, then two of them picked up the skull and carried it out of the forest, the third one leading them.

"Thank you, my friends!" said N, waving to the Pokemon as they walked off with the skull.

"That was insectible! How did you do that?" asked Burgh.

"I told you he has superpowers!" exclaimed White.

"Thank you, young man. You've been a great help." said Lenora, shaking N's hand. She then followed the Gurdurr out of the forest, making sure they got it back to the museum.

"You kids are going to challenge my gym, correct?" asked Burgh. "I'm sure our battles will be absolutely bugtastic!" said Burgh, as he walked off, headed back to Castelia City. With him gone, it was now just N, Anthea, Concordia, and White left.

"Well, then, White. We're both headed to Castelia City, why don't we go together?" N asked.

"Hold up, N. Me and Anthea haven't got the Basic Badge yet. We can't head to Castelia until we all have the badge." said Concordia.

"But I already have the badge. I have no further reason to be in Nacrene City." said N.

"It doesn't matter, I'm not letting you go there on your own. Castelia is a huge city." she said.

"You're seriously going to treat him like a little kid?" asked White. "I'm sure he can take care of himself, he's got superpowers after all." she said.

Concordia frowned at her. "Who do you think you are?" she asked.

"Uhm, Concordia, she has a point." said Anthea.

Concordia looked at her with disapproval. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"Well, it's not very fair for us to be dragging N down, just because we don't have the badge yet. Besides, he won't get far. He'll have to cross Skyarrow Bridge first, which takes forever on feet." said Anthea.

N smiled, happy to have her support. "See, 'Connie'?" he said in a cute voice. "'Annie' agrees, so you're outnumbered three to one." he said, smiling.

Anthea giggled at this. Concordia was not amused. N calling them Annie and Connie, and him telling her she was outnumbered reminded her of the day that N had his nightmare of.

"Fine! Do what you want!" exclaimed Concordia. "But if something happens, you better call me on the xtrainceiver immediately!" she said.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." said N.

"Let's get going. The quicker we're done, the better." said Concordia, grabbing Anthea by her ear, dragging her back to Nacrene City.

"Hey! Ouch! Let go! You're hurting me!" cried Anthea, as she was dragged away.

N and White both burst out laughing when N's sisters where no longer in sight.

"Let's get going then!" exclaimed White, as she and N went off to Skyarrow Bridge.

_To be continued..._


	13. Chapter 13: Castelia City pt 1

After the Team Plasma incident in Pinwheel Forest, N and White decided to cross Skyarrow Bridge, and reach Castelia City together.

"It feels like we've been walking forever." said White.

"The view from here is beautiful though." said N.

The bridge was at least twenty feet up in the air, and stood above the ocean. From the bridge, they could see many giant skyscrapers up ahead. Flocks of Swanna and Tranquill flew in the air.

"I've never seen the ocean before. It's much prettier seeing it in person than hearing about it." said N, staring down into the ocean as they walked.

"Never? Haven't you ever been to the beach?" asked White.

"What's a beach?" N asked.

White hoped N was joking. "Are you freaking serious?" she asked.

"You seem surprised. Should I know what a beach is?" he asked.

White facepalmed. "Uh, well, a beach is a sandy shore, by the sea. It's fun to go there in the summer." she explained. "How the heck do you not know what a beach is?" she asked.

"I've never heard of it before now." he said.

"Sheesh N, is Pokemon all you know?" asked White.

"To me, Pokemon always come first, even before my own life." N said, walking with his eyes closed now.

White felt like she made things awkward, so she stopped talking. After several more hours of walking in silence, they finally arrived at Castelia City. It was a huge, very busy city, full of skyscrapers, many streets, and docks filled with boats. The sun had just set, so the city was also full of street-lights.

"We're here! It's about time we've arrived, my feet are killing me!" exclaimed White.

"I suppose you're going to go challenge the gym, before it closes for the night?" asked N.

"Nah, let's explore the city first. There's so much to see here!" said White.

"Explore the city? I'm not sure that's a good idea." said N.

"What? Why not?" asked White.

"This is a huge city, and it's getting pretty late. What if we get lost? Concordia won't be very pleased." said N.

"Lost? Come on, N. We're not little kids. Don't be such a scaredy cat!" said White.

"White! Hello!" called out a female voice.

White turned around and saw Bianca and Cheren approaching.

"It's about time you've got here. I've already beaten the Gym Leader." said Cheren, holding up the Insect Badge in pride.

"Oh! I see you're here with N! We didn't mean to interrupt your date!" exclaimed Bianca.

White blushed, clenching her hands into fists. "We are NOT on a date!" she shouted.

N looked confused. "What's a date?" he asked.

Everyone looked at him like he said something stupid.

"Do not answer that!" shouted White.

"What are you two doing anyway?" asked Cheren.

"Well, I don't know about this guy, but I'M going to explore the city." said White.

"Cool. We were going to do the same thing, let's explore together." said Cheren.

"This will be fun!" exclaimed Bianca.

White joined her and Bianca, as they walked off to explore the city. As they walked, Bianca and Cheren noticed that N wasn't following.

"Aren't you coming with us, N?" asked Bianca.

"Well, I..." he said.

"Oh he's just afraid of exploring a big city at night without his big sister here to protect him." teased White.

N frowned at her. "I am not afraid." he said.

"Then come with us! If you want, we won't go too far." said White.

N sighed. "If you insist." he said, as he tagged along with White and her friends.

"Great! So, where should we go first?" asked White.

"Let's go to the docks. I heard that if you buy a ticket, you can ride one of the boats to Liberty Garden. If we want to go there, we'll need to buy ourselves tickets before the boat takes off." said Cheren.

"What's Liberty Garden?" asked Bianca.

"It's an island, rumored to be home to the legendary Pokemon, Victini. Maybe we'll be lucky enough to see it if we go there." said Cheren.

"A legendary Pokemon? Sounds like a plan to me, let's go!" said White.

They then went over to the docks. They were many boats in the ocean, one of them which was a giant, black boat, at least three times the size of the others, and had the Team Plasma logo on it.

"I wonder what Team Plasma is doing here." asked N, staring at the boat, as they waited in line to buy their boat tickets.

"Probably to steal something else. What a bother." said Cheren.

"Damn, are those guys gonna show up everywhere we go?" asked White.

"You guys seem to think bad of Team Plasma." said N.

"Well, of course we do! They're a bunch of hypocrites, and pathetic thieves!" exclaimed White.

"They took the dragon skull from the museum because they thought it was something else, White." said N.

"That doesn't change the fact that they STOLE it!" she said.

"But they do everything they do for the sake of Pokemon." said N.

"Really, N? You can't seriously fall for there ridiculous lies!" said White.

Before they could continue arguing, it was their turn in line to buy the boat tickets.

"Hello, we would like four tickets to Liberty Garden, please." said Cheren, talking to the man selling the tickets.

"That'll be 30 dollars each." said the ticket man.

"Thirty dollars?!" he said, looking through his wallet. "What a bother. All I've got is twenty-five. White, how much do you have?" he asked.

"Let's see...damn, only fifty Bianca, what about you?" asked White.

"Oh, I spent all my money already." said Bianca.

"Damn, I guess we can't go." said White.

"You seem to have forgotten that I'm here." said N.

"Oh? Do you have enough money for the tickets?" asked White.

"I have three-thousand dollars with me. It won't hurt to buy the tickets for you guys." he said, as he took money out of his wallet and handed it to the ticket man.

"Three-thousand dollars?!" asked White, Cheren, and Bianca at the same time.

"Why are you so surprised?" he asked handing them their tickets.

"You carry three-thousand dollars around in your wallet? You must be filthy rich!" exclaimed White.

"That's not that much, really. Anthea has, or had five-thousand with her, and Concordia had ten-thousand." he said.

"Are you fucking serious?!" asked White.

"Wow! That's way more money than my whole family has!" said Bianca.

"I must admit I'm a bit envious." said Cheren, crossing his arms.

"Uh, sorry?" said N, confused. "Do you want some?" he asked.

"You're offering us your money?" asked White, with a raised eyebrow.

"I couldn't..." said Cheren.

"He's so nice!" said Bianca, as N handed her two hundred dollars.

"Are you two sure you don't want any?" said N, waving several hundred dollars in their faces.

"Oh, what the hell! Of course I want your freaking money!" said White, snatching two hundred dollars out of his hand.

"You're not half bad." said Cheren, as he accepted the money N offered him.

"I'm quite hungry now. Why don't you guys use that money and buy us some dinner?" said N.

"Wait, N. You didn't buy yourself a ticket!" exclaimed White.

"Concordia will probably be mad if I do." said N.

"How long do you plan on being bossed around by her?" said White.

Everyone, except N laughed at this, as they walked off to find a place to buy food. As they walked, N suddenly heard a familiar voice singing.

"_The cycle repeated_

_As explosions broke in the sky_

_All that I needed_

_Was the one thing I couldn't find_

_And you were there at the turn_

_Waiting to let me know_"

"No! Don't tell me she's here!" N thought to himself.

Zorua looked around, baring his fangs. Clearly, he heard it too.

"You coming, N?" asked White.

N shook off the thought of her being there. Maybe him and Zorua were just imagining it. He then joined back up with White and her friends. They walked down the Castelia streets to see what they could find. The streets were filled with a bunch of people walking down the side walks, and a seemingly endless amount of cars driving in and out of the city.

"Let's see, according to the map, there should be some fast food restaurants on the next street." said Cheren, looking at his map, as they walked on the side walk.

"I'll bet you don't even know what fast food is, right N?" asked White, but got no answer.

She looked around, and saw him standing in the middle of the street, staring at a car. The man in it was honking the horn and yelling at him.

"Get the hell out of the way, you crazy fool!" the man shouted.

"What the hell...?" asked Cheren.

White ran over to him, and quickly dragged him back to the side walk.

"N, what the bloody fuck where you doing? Do you not see all the cars on the street? Do you have a death wish or something?!" she asked

"I've never seen a care this close before." said N, watching the cars drive past. "Are cars dangerous?" he asked.

"N, sometimes I think you're just flat out retarded. Seriously, you make Bianca look like a genius!" said White.

"Hey! I heard that!" shouted Bianca.

"That doesn't sound very nice." said N.

"I can see now why Concordia is so worried about you." said White.

They continued their walk in silence. After several more minutes, they found some fast food restaurants, and went inside to order. While they ordered, N's xtranceiver began to ring. It was Concordia.

"N, we've arrived in Castelia. Where are you?" she asked.

"I'm still in Castelia. I'll meet you at the Pokemon Center." he said, hanging up. He then began to head back to the main part of the city, where the Pokemon Center is.

"Hey, N! You forgot your food!" said White, running over to him and handing him his food, which was inside a bag.

"Thank you, White." he said, tipping his hat over his eyes, then walking off. As soon as he made it back to the Pokemon Center, he found his sisters there, waiting on him. He noticed that Antheas Gothita had evolved to a Gothorita.

"N, there you are!" said Anthea, embracing him in a big hug.

"I hope you're ready to call it a night, N. I'm worn out." she said.

_To be continued..._


	14. Chapter 14: Liberty Garden pt 1

After meeting up with his sisters at the Pokemon Center, N was now laying in bed, wide awake. Earlier he had asked Concordia if they could go to Liberty Garden, but told him they have no reason to go there.

"You want to go to Liberty Garden too, don't you Zorua?" he asked, petting Zorua, who was also still woke, though sleepy.

Zorua nodded and let out a yawn.

"And what about you, Servine?" he asked, running his hand down Servine's scaly back.

Servine also nodded.

"I guess we can at least go watch the boat take off." N said, looking over to his sisters. They were both fast asleep.

N put Zorua on his shoulder, and Servine slithered on his shoulders, gently wrapping himself around N's neck, as N went outside, then walked to the docks to watch the boat take off. When he got there, he noticed Angie, Brad, and Mei getting on the Team Plasma boat.

"_N, we could sneak on their boat and get to Liberty Garden!_" said Zorua.

N really wanted to do that. "Concordia won't be happy if she finds out." said N.

"_She won't find out, she's sleep!_" exclaimed Zorua.

"I guess she'll just have to find out tomorrow. She'll be mad, but we can't miss this opportunity."

Before Team Plasma's boat took off, N quickly, but quietly got aboard, trying to remain hidden. Angie, Brad, and Mei went into the control room of the boat, while N stayed in the supply room.

"We're gonna need a way to remain hidden." N whispered.

"_I can disguise myself as a box, and you can hide behind me!_" said Zorua.

"Brilliant idea, Zorua!" whispered N.

Zorua then hopped off of N's shoulder crawled over to one of the corners of the boat walls, then closed his eyes. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes, and N crouched down behind him.

"_This is funny from my position. I don't feel any different, and you're hiding behind me, despite being way bigger than me._" whispered Zorua with a chuckle.

Suddenly, the boat took off at amazing speed. Everything in the supply room shook and slid around, some crashing into walls. Zorua was trying hard not to fall over.

"Stay on your feet, Zorua." whispered N, holding on to Zorua to help him remain on his feet.

"_I'm trying!_" said Zorua.

Everything in the room continued falling over and crashing into walls, making a bunch of noise. N could then here the Team Plasma Grunts begin to talk.

"That's quite a lot of noise going back there." said Brad.

"Mei, go see what's going on back there. If anythings fell over, pick it up, and if anythings spilled, clean it up." commanded Angie.

"Why do I have to do it? That stuff is heavy." said Mei.

"You aren't doing anything useful in here. Go do as I say, NOW!" Angie commanded again.

Not much longer after that, Mei came into the supply room and started fixing everything up. She eventually got closer and closer to N and Zorua.

"_Please don't find us, please don't find us..._" N thought to himself.

Unfortunately, she then noticed the unusual box in the corner, and went over to it. When she tried to open it, Zoruas disguise immediately wore off.

"My Lo-!" she exclaimed, but N quickly covered her mouth with his hand.

Like in Pinwheel Forest, she blushed at his touch. N then whispered into her ear.

"Do not tell anybody I am here. That is a direct order from your king. Understood?" he asked.

She nodded. N then removed his hand from her mouth.

"Why is Team Plasma going to Liberty Garden?" he asked, still whispering.

"Legends say that a legendary Pokemon called Victini lives on Liberty Garden. Two hundred years ago, a rich king bought the entire island, and hid Victini in a basement there. Victini doesn't know the way out of the basement, so it's been caged in there for two hundred years. We plan to free Victini, in the name of Pokemon Liberation." she whispered.

Before N could respond to this, the boat came to a stop. They reached Liberty Garden. Mei bowed to her king, then went back to the control room.

"Looks like we're here." said N.

N then put Zorua on his shoulder, walked over to the entrance to the control room, and peeked in. It was empty. They all must have already got out of the boat.

"Let's wait a few minutes before getting off." said N.

"_Why are we waiting? There's no one here to hide from._" asked Zorua.

"If we get off now, chances are they haven't traveled too far yet, and cause us to catch up to them, thus blowing our cover." explained N.

_Meanwhile..._

Giallo, one of the Seven Sages was giving the Team Plasma trio instructions.

"Victini is a powerful Pokemon, so you'll need to be together, in case you find it, and it goes berserk." said Giallo. "I will search that way, and you will search that way. Am I clear?" he asked.

"Yes, Giallo of the Seven Sages!" said all three grunts at once.

With that, Giallo then went off in the direction he told them he'd search in. The three grunts went off in the direction he told them to search in.

"Why does he insist on us searching together? We'll find it faster if we split up!" said Brad.

"But what if one of us were to find it, and it goes berserk, like Sage Giallo said?" asked Mei.

"You make it sound like we're weak! We're the top ranked Team Plasma Grunts!" exclaimed Brad.

"Both of you, quit your whining! Like it or not, an order is an order!" said Angie, in a demanding voice.

The three continued their search in silence. They didn't seem to be having any luck. After about half an hour of searching, they crossed paths with White, Bianca, and Cheren.

"Team Plasma!" exclaimed White.

"Intruders!" exclaimed Mei.

"You kids again? When are you gonna learn to stop interfering with Team Plasma?" asked Brad.

"When are you guys going to stop hiding behind your pitiful lies? You're nothing but thieves and hypocrites!" said White.

"Talking down to Team Plasma is the biggest mistake you'll ever make!" said Angie.

"We'll just defeat you again, and this time, we'll free your Pokemon! You'll no longer be able to interfere with us anymore." said Mei.

"You'll have to actually defeat us first. Servine, go!" said Cheren, sending out his Pokemon.

"Tepig, let's go!" said White, sending out her Pokemon.

"Come on out, Dewott!" said Bianca, as she sent out her Pokemon.

"Go, Seviper!" said Angie.

"Go, Magnezone!" said Brad.

"Serperior, go!" said Mei.

The Team Plasma trio sent out there Pokemon simultaneously.

"Tepig, use Flame Charge on Serperior!" commanded White

"Servine, use Wrap on Seviper!" commanded Cheren.

"Dewott, use Razor Shell on Magnezone!" commanded Bianca.

"Seviper, use Glare on Tepig!" commanded Angie.

"Magnezone, use Thunder Wave on Servine!" commanded Brad.

"Serperior, use Wring Out on Dewott!" commanded Mei.

Tepig charged towards Serperior, her body engulfed in flames, as Dewott created a giant, shell shaped blade, made out of water, and charged at Magnezone, and Servine slithered over to Serperior. Before they could reach their targets, Seviper slithered away from Servine, and glared into Tepigs eyes. Suddenly paralyzed, Tepig stopped moving, which cancelled her attack. Servine continued slithering towards Serperior, but Magnezone shot down a tiny bolt of electricity at Servine, paralyzing him, while Dewott continued approaching Magnezone, Serperior quickly slithered over to him, then wrapped its giant body around Dewotts, squeezing all his energy out.

"Tepig, use Ember on Serperior!" commanded White.

"Battling while being unable to move won't be easy. What a bother. Servine, use Leech Seed on Seviper!" commanded Cheren.

"Dewott, break free and use Water Pulse on Magnezone!" commanded Bianca.

Tepig sent small sparks of flames out of her nose at Serperior, which caused Serperior to slither back, hissing in pain, releasing Dewott. Servine then planted several seeds under Seviper, which stopped it from moving, while slowly absorbing its energy, while Dewott sent a pulse of water at Magnezone, which pushed it several feet back, causing it to spin around in circles, confused.

"Magnezone, cut it out and use Thunderbolt on Dewott!" commanded Brad.

Magnezone, however, continued spinning around, while occasionally using Thunderbolt in random directions, none of them hitting anyone.

"Seviper, use Poison Fang on Servine!" commanded Angie.

Seviper bared it's sharp fangs at Servine, and tried to charge towards him, but it was no good. He still couldn't move, and was slowly losing energy.

"Serperior, free Seviper from the seeding!" commanded Mei.

Serperior slithered over to Seviper, then ate the seeds that were preventing Seviper from moving.

"Are you shitting me?! Tepig, again, use Ember on Serperior!" commanded White.

"Servine, use Leaf Tornado on Seviper!" commanded Cheren.

"Dewott, use Razor Shell on Magnezone!" commanded Bianca.

"Serperior, dodge and use Hyper Beam on Tepig!" commanded Mei.

"Seviper, dodge, and use Poison Fang on Servine!" commanded Angie.

"Magnezone, quit fooling around and us Thunderbolt on Dewott already!" commanded Brad.

Tepig sent more sparks of fire towards Serperior, but this time, Serperior jumped right over the attack, then, while in the air, shot a giant, white beam down on Tepig, which instantly sent Tepig flying back, until she crashed into the bark of a tree. Tepig was unable to continue battling. While this happened, Servine sent a tornado made out of leaves at Seviper, but Seviper quickly slithered to the side, then quickly slithered behind Servine, and stuck its sharp fangs into Servines neck, injecting poison into him. Servine fell to the ground, unable to continue battling. Dewott continued charging towards Magnezone, but before it was close enough to land its attack, Magnezone came back to its senses, and used Thunderbolt on Dewott, which instantly defeated it.

"Damn, this isn't good..., Tepig, return!" said White, returning Tepig to her Pokeball.

"Servine, return." said Cheren, returning Servine to his Pokeball.

"Dewott, return!" said Bianca, as she returned her Pokemon to its Pokeball.

"Foolish kids! See what happens when you interfere with Team Plasma?" asked Brad.

"Now we'll just take your Pokeballs from you, and bring them with us!" said Angie.

"We're not finished yet! Go, Scolipede!" exclaimed White, as she sent out her second Pokemon.

"Go, Tranquill!" said Cheren, sending out a Pokemon that looked like a big pidgen, with gray, black, and green feathers.

"Go, Munna!" said Bianca, as she sent out her Pokemon

Before anyone could give their Pokemon a command, Giallo suddenly came and interrupted the battle.

"Leave these intruders to me! You three get back to searching for Victini!" he demanded.

"Yes Sage Giallo!" said the three grunts, returning their Pokemon, and running off.

Giallo then faced White and her friends.

"This will be the last time you ever interfere with Team Plasma. Go, Thundurus, Tornadus, and Landorus!" said Giallo, sending out three Pokemon.

The three Pokemon emerged from their Pokeballs, flying high in the sky. One was a muscular, blue Pokemon with purple spots, that looked like a genie. It had a purple horn sticking out of its head, yellow eyes with no eyeballs, a cross pattern on the back of its head, and was floating on a mystical, white cloud, which its long tail that resembled multiple cannon balls stretched out of.

The second one looked almost the exact same as the first, but was green, and had two horns on its head instead of one, and a long, purple tail, with a swirl at the end.

The third was orange, with the same features as the first, but had three horns instead of one, and a long tail that looked somewhat like a tree branch.

When the three Pokemon appeared in the sky, an unusually heavy, and very windy thunderstorm started up.

"Those are three legendary Pokemon!" exclaimed Cheren.

"You've got to be fucking shitting me!" shouted White.

_To be continued..._


	15. Chapter 15: Liberty Garden pt 2

"How are we going to beat Pokemon this dangerous?" asked Bianca, clearly frightened.

"I don't think we can. We couldn't even beat the grunts." said Cheren.

"But we have no choice but to fight!" exclaimed White.

"Your last words are have no value to Team Plasma. Thundurus, use Thunder! Tornadus, use Hurricane!" commanded Giallo.

"Dodge!" commanded White, Cheren, and Bianca to their Pokemon all at once.

Thundurus sent a huge bolt of lightning down on Tranquill, which he tried to fly away from, but the attack came down in less than second. Tranquill quickly fell out of the air.

"Tranquill!" said Cheren, returning his Pokemon to its Pokeball before it could crash down.

Tornadus then created a huge hurricane, which absorbed Scolipede and Munna into it, then the hurricane quickly disappeared, and Scolipede and Munna came falling down out of it, unconscious.

"Scolipede..." said White, returning Scolipede to it's Pokeball.

"Return, Munna..." said Bianca, returning her Pokemon to it's Pokeball.

"Now you shall hand your Pokemon over to me." said Giallo.

"Never!" exclaimed White.

"I guess we're going to have to do this the hard way." said Giallo.

Giallo approached White and her friends, with Thundurus and Tornadus close to the ground, to his sides, and Landorus a few feet above his head. As he approached them, a huge, inferno scarlet of flames crashed down on Landorus, Thundurus, and Tornadus, flattening them into the ground. In front of White and her friends was now a small, floating Pokemon, covered in yellow fur, had ears shaped like a V, red fur on its ears, and big blue eyes.

"So you've come, Victini." said Giallo, as his Pokemon got back up.

Victini glanced over its shoulder, looking at White and her friends, then pointed off into a distant direction.

"I think it's telling us to escape while we can." said Cheren.

"So, Victinis come to save us?" asked Bianca.

"Thanks, Victini! We owe you one!" said White, as she and her friends ran away.

Angie, Brad, and Mei then ran over to Giallo.

"We are sorry, Sage Giallo! When we broke open Victini's basement, it flew away before we could do anything!" aplogized Angie, with a bow.

"Help me defeat him, so we can take him with us. If we can't defeat him, then he will just fly away again." said Giallo.

"Right! Go, Seviper!" said Angie, sending out her Pokemon.

"Serperior, go!" said Mei, sending out her Pokemon.

"Go, Magnezone!" said Brad, sending out his Pokemon.

Victini looked at Giallo's three Pokemon. They had angered expressions on their faces, then looked at Seviper, Magnezone, and Serperior. The odds were against him, but if he tried to fly away, then Landorus, Tornadus, and Thundurus would just fly after him. His only option was to fight.

"Seviper, prevent Victini from escaping with Glare!" commanded Angie.

"Magnezone, help Seviper out by using Thunder Wave on Victini!" commanded Brad.

"Serperior, help out by using Wring Out!" commanded Mei,

Seviper glared at Victini, while Magnezone sent a small bolt of electricity down towards Victini, and Serperior jumped towards Victini, trying to wrap its giant body around him. Victini swiftly flew away from their attacks, but turned around to see Thundurus, Landorus, and Tornadus right behind him.

"Thundurus, use Thunder! Landorus, Stone Edge! Tornadus, use Thrash!" commanded Giallo.

Thundurus sent a giant bolt of lightning down towards Victini, which Victini managed to quickly avoid, then Landorus sent sharp stones from out of the ground up at Victini, which Victini managed to dodge by flying to the side, but as soon as he dodged this, he was hit by Tornadus, who was trashing it's tail around wildly. The attack hit with such force, it knocked Victini onto the bark of a tree, which Victini slowly slid down, landing on the ground.

"We've got you now, Victini! Magnezone, use Flash Cannon!" commanded Brad.

"Seviper, use Crunch!" commanded Angie.

"Serperior, use Hyper Beam!" commanded Mei.

Magnezone and Serperior both shot their attacks at Victini at the same time, but Victini quickly got up and flew away from their attacks. Seviper then jumped in the air, leaping towards Victini, with its fangs bared. While Seviper was approaching, Victini's head suddenly became engulfed in a hot flame, and he then hurdled himself at Seviper. Seviper fell out of the air, crashing down, hard, on the ground, now unable to battle.

"Seviper, return!" said Angie, returning Seviper to its Pokeball.

As soon as Victini was done with Seviper, he flew over to Magnezone and Serperior, and caused an inferno of scarlet flames to torch down on them. Magnezone and Serperior were now unable to battle.

"Serperior return!" said Mei, returning Serperior to its Pokeball.

"Magnezone, return!" said Brad, returning his Pokeball.

"Victini, just come with us peacefully and we won't have to hurt you!" said Giallo.

Victini flew back up in the air, where Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus where, ready to face them.

"Foolish Pokemon." said Giallo, disappointed. "Tornadus, again, use Trash!" he commanded.

Tornadus swung it's huge tail around wildly and rapidly at Victini, but Victini was managing to dodge each hit from Tornadus's tail.

"Now, Thundurus, use Thunder while Victini is distracted!" commanded Giallo.

Thundurus sent another giant bolt of lightning down towards Victini, but Victini flew behind Tornadus, and quickly pushed Tornadus into Thundurus's attack. Tornadus screamed in pain, as he slowly fell to the ground. To make sure Tornadus wouldn't get back up, Victini flew down after Tornadus, surrounding his body in a huge amount of electricity, then crashed down on Tornadus. Tornadus then fell to the ground much quicker, and could not get back up. With Tornadus down, the heavy wind settled down.

"Tornadus, return!" said Giallo, as he returned Tornadus to it's Pokeball. "Landorus, use Earthquake while Victini is still on the ground, Thundurus, use Thunder if he tries to fly away!" he commanded.

Landorus set off a powerful earthquake, but Victini quickly flew up in the air to avoid the attack, then Thundurus shot down another giant bolt of lightning on Victini. This time, Victini wasn't fast enough to avoid the attack, and fell back down to the ground, shrieking in pain.

"Give up now, Victini! You can not possibly win!" exclaimed Giallo.

There was no quit in Victini. He got back in the air, and flew towards Thundurus, then blew an intense, yet beautiful blue flame towards Thundurus.

"Thundurus, counter attack with Focus Blast!" commanded Giallo.

Thundurus threw a huge blast at Victini, which hit him, knocking him several feet back, but he remained in the air, while at the same time, Thundurus was engulfed in the flames. Thundurus was now screaming in pain. The rain was not enough to put the fire out.

"Landorus, now, use Hammer Arm!" commanded Giallo.

Landorus flew over to Victini, then hammered its heavy tail down towards Victinis head. Victini, however, was prepared. He engulfed his head in a huge, hot flame, then hurled himself at Landorus, while at the same time, being hammered on the head by Landorus's tail. Both Pokemon fell back to the ground. They both then got back up, breathing heavily. Victini was covered in cuts and bruises, had one black eye, and was bleeding. Landorus's tail was on fire from Victini's last attack, and Thundurus was still in the air, burning away in the blue flames.

"You're much stronger, much smarter, much more resilient than I expected, Victini. With your power, none shall be able to stop Team Plasma!" exclaimed Giallo. "Now, Landorus, end this with Earthquake!" he commanded.

Landorus then flew back in the air, trying to ignore the agonizing pain in its tail, then created another powerful Earthquake. Victini quickly flew back in the air, then sent scarlet flames torching down from the air on Landorus. The impact was so strong, it knocked Landorus to the ground, where it was then hit by it's own Earthquake. Landorus was now unconscious.

"Landorus, return!" said Giallo, starting to think he can't beat Victini. "Thundurus, end this with Thunder!" he commanded.

The flames on Thundurus's body had finally been put out by the rain, and it then sent yet another giant bolt of lightning down on Victini. At the same time, Victini sent another inferno of scarlet flames down on Thundurus. Both attacks hit at the same time, and both Pokemon shrieked in pain at the same time. Thundurus slowly fell out of the sky, while the thunder storm slowly settled down. Thundurus was no longer able to battle. Victini stayed on his feet for several seconds, then collapsed.

"Thundurus...return." said Giallo, returning his last Pokemon to it's Pokeball.

"Sage Giallo was defeated...?" asked Mei, quietly.

"He wasn't defeated...it was a draw." said Brad.

"You may have beat my Pokemon, Victini, but you're no longer in fighting condition. We'll just take you with us and go from there." said Giallo, as he walked over to Victini.

Giallo picked Victini up by the fur on his back, and started carrying him back to Team Plasma's boat, but Victini still wasn't ready to give up. He bit Giallo's hand as hard as he could.

"Ouch!" he screamed in pain.

"Sage Giallo!" exclaimed the three Grunts at the same time.

Victini then used the last of his energy to fly to the top of the tallest tree he could find, then lay down on, crying himself to sleep.

_Meanwhile..._

N had been wandering around on Liberty Garden the whole time. He just so happened to be on the opposite end of the island from where the battle took place.

"The storm's finally settled down." said N, as the storm now completely ended.

"_That was an unusually strong storm_." said Zorua.

N nodded in agreement. As he continued walking, he suddenly stopped, and his jaw dropped.

"_Is something wrong, N?_" asked Zorua.

"I can sense the heart of a badly injured Pokemon..." said N, as he quickly ran off to where he could sense Victini's heart.

After about twenty minutes of running as fast as he could, he arrived to where Victini was, but couldn't see him.

Victini opened his eyes, and looked down from the tree at N. There was something about N that Victini naturally trusted. Resting in the tree had restored enough of his energy for Victini to fly, which was more like falling down from the tree, into N's arms. N's eyes widened at just how hurt Victini was. He was in even worse condition than Zorua was the day Ghetsis brought him home to N.

"You're the injured Pokemon who's heart I could sense. What's your name? What happened to you?" asked N.

"_Vi-Victini..._" said Victini He was in such bad condition, it hurt to speak.

"You're Victini?" N asked, shocked.

"_You can understand me?_" Victini asked.

N nodded. "Don't worry, I'm gonna fix you up." he said, as he took a bottle of medicine out of his Pocket, and helped Victini drink it. A few moments later, Victini fully opened his eyes, and began flying around N's head, smiling.

"Yes, and I'm sorry, that's the best I could do. I didn't bring any other medicine with me." said N.

"What happened to you? You looked like you were going to slowly die away if I hadn't showed up." said N, stroking Victini's fur.

"_I...battled..-_"

But their conversation was interrupted by a scream. It was the scariest scream any of them had ever heard in his life. It sounded like the scream of someone going to war, a scream that seemed to travel faster than sound normally can, and seemed to surround N. It felt as if the scream grabbed him by the throat, causing him to be gripped by so much fear, he could barely control himself.

N grabbed Victini in his arms, with Zorua on his shoulder and Servine wrapped gently around his head, and ran as fast as he could in a random direction, just trying to get the hell away.

_To be continued..._


	16. Chapter 16: Liberty Garden pt 3

As N ran away from the terrifying he scream, he now a heard a familiar voice singing, which he kept running from, but it seemed to keep getting closer.

Always, known in, all my time,  
A little left of center now Reflect as I realize,  
That all I need is to find the middle pillar path to sit like the sun by a star in the sky and just be.  
Sinners, casting stones at me ...I stand, not crawling, not falling down ...I bleed the demons that drag me down ...I stand, (for nothing), not crawling, (the center), not falling down (of calms within the eye)  
..I'll bleed, (for no one), The demons, (but myself), that pull me down (for me and no one else

N continued running as fast as he could, breathing heavily. He looked as if he was running for his life, and he was clearly scared out of his mind.

No...why her? Why now? he thought to himself.

As he kept running as fast as he could from where he thought the girl's singing was coming from, he was met with a frightening sight, not even a foot in front of him, stood the mysterious trainer from before.

Did you miss me? she asked, giggling.

She walked over to him, and poked his nose with hers, still giggling.

I want nothing to do with you! shouted N.

N then tried to run away, but he bumped into a large, blue, metal, UFO-shaped quadrupedal with an X on it's face. It was a Metagross. The mysterious trainer walked over to him again, giggling.

What's wrong? Didn't you miss me? she asked.

She then put her arms behind her back, and brought her face so close to N's, their faces were almost touching. Zorua bared his fangs, Victini looked scared, and N gritted his teeth at her.

What do you want from me? You took my skateboard already, what more could you possibly want? N asked, clenching his hands into fists.

She giggled again. Would you please battle me? she asked, in a surprisingly nice way.

N flinched. N-No! Leave me and my friends alone! he said.

The mysterious girl then backed up a bit, then threw two Pokeballs.

Go, Weavile, and Scizor. she said, sending out Weavile, and a tall, red, metal, ant-like Pokemon, with three horns on it's head, and thin wings.

Scizor, use Bug Bite on Zorua. she commanded

Scizor quickly flew over to Zorua, and before Zorua had a chance to dodge, Scizor bit him, hard. Zorua fell of N's shoulder, and screamed in pain.

Zorua! cried N.

Zorua got back on his feet, and looked in Scizor in the eye, with a blood-thirsty look in his eyes.

Why are you hurting my friends? They haven't done anything to you! asked N.

The mysterious girl giggled once again.

Hurting them, am I? What do you think might prevent me from further hurting them? she asked, with a wicked smile on her face.

If I had just listened to Concordia and hadn't came here, I wouldn't be in this situation... N thought to himself. He was dead wrong to ever doubt his sister.

N, do you know why people train their Pokemon? asked the mysterious girl.

N clenched and unclenched his fists. Because they want to win the Pokemon League! But in the process, they are letting their Pokemon get hurt, and hurting other Pokemon! he exclaimed.

Oh? If you're Pokemon were stronger, don't you think they'd be able to defend themselves from me? she asked, with a giggle.

They shouldn't have too defend themselves! It's people like you that make this world unsafe for Pokemon to live in! shouted N.

You're right, people like me make this world very unsafe. But you see, people like me will always exist. Don't you think you should be strong enough to stop people like me? This brings me back to the act that training your Pokemon would keep them, you,...and your sisters from getting hurt...by people like me. said the mysterious girl.

You leave my sisters out of this! exclaimed N, getting really annoyed.

Weavile, please us Fake-Out on Zorua, and Scizor, please follow up with Bug Bite. commanded the mysterious girl.

No, Zorua! Get out of there! cried N.

Weavile rushed towards Zorua, and Zorua ran away as fast as he could, but bumped into Scizor, who immediately bit Zorua's back as hard as it could. Zorua cried out in pain.

Now, Weavile, Night Slash. commanded the mysterious girl.

Weavile then continued rushing over to Zorua, and slashed his back, with her sharp claws. Zorua fell over, defeated.

Zorua... N said, his eyes filled with tears.

N looked at Victini and Servine; they were both clearly scared, and Victini was in no condition to battle.

Victini, take Servine and fly as far away from here as you can! he said, tears falling down his face.

Victini got out of N's arms, and floated in the air next to N, but didn't fly away.

No, N! I can't leave you here on your own, you saved my life! exclaimed Victini.

Please, Victini! You're in no condition to battle! cried N.

No, N! I wouldn't still be alive right now if it weren't for you! I can't leave you! I'll protect you even if it costs me my life! said Victini boldly.

N could tell he wasn't going to have any luck convincing Victini to leave, so he decided to try to convince Servine instead.

Servine! Please, get as far away from here as you can. I don't want to see anyone else hurt! he cried.

Servine thought. If I leave him, I'll be safe, but to what gain? Where will I go then? Will I live on this island by myself for the rest of my life?

Servine then looked at N, then slithered down from N's head to the ground, and stood in front of N, ready to fight a battle he knew he couldn't win.

Well, isn't that admirable. said the mysterious girl. Weavile, use Night Slash on Victini. Scizor, use Bullet Punch. she commanded.

Before N had a chance to give his Pokemon any commands, Weavile rushed over to Victini, and slashed him on his side, then Scizor then quickly flew over to Victini, and threw a very fast punch at Victini's other side. Victini fell out of the air, and screamed in pain.

Now, Weavile, use Ice Punch on Servine. she commanded.

Servine, use Leaf Tornado! commanded N.

Weavile, with her fist covered in ice, rush over to Servine, while Servine spun around in a circle, trying to create a leaf tornado. Before Servine could finish preparing his attack, Weavile was directly behind him, and punched him in the back of his head, hard. This knocked Servine out.

No, Servine! cried N, more tears streaming down his face. Victini, use Seering Shot! he commanded.

Scizor, use Protect, please. commanded the mysterious girl.

Victini sent an inferno scarlet of flames torching down from the sky, while Scizor put up an invisible barrier to protect itself. The attack then crashed down on both Scizor and Weavile. Scizor's barrier had protected itself, and Weavile was knocked several feet back, taking the impact from the attack.

Scizor, use Bug Bite, please. commanded the mysterious girl.

Scizor flew over to Victini and tried to bite him, but Victini flew back, avoiding the attack. Then, Weavile jumped up, slashing Victini's back with her claws. Victini fell to the ground, shrieking in pain.

Victini, no! cried N.

N ran over to Victini, picking him up, and cradling him in his arms. Victini was already badly injured, and was now in even worse condition than before. There was a huge, bleeding cut running from his shoulder to his back. The mysterious girl walked over to N, smiling.

Good game. she said, giggling.

N had enough of this girl. He gritted his teeth, balled his hands into fists, and swung his fist at her. As if she was ready for that, she quickly ducked under his fist, then stood back, smiling.

You know you love me. she said.

I HATE everything about! exclaimed N.

N swung his fist at her again, trying to be careful, as he was holding his three Pokemon. The mysterious girl evading his punch, grabbed his arm and gave it a jerk. His arm then went limp.

Are you trying to hug me? How sweet! she said, smiling wickedly.

Who are you? What do you want from me? N asked.

Me? You can call me Marie, and as for what I want; that's a secret, shh. she said, placing her finger on his mouth.

N glared at her, balling his hands into fists. He had never been this angry in whose life. Marie looked at amused at his reaction.

Don't bother, I'm a trained fighter. explained Marie. And now it's my turn. she said.

She then kicked N in his face, and he fell over, grimacing in pain. N looked up, and saw Marie flick two tiny objects at him, which pinned him by his arms, to the nearest tree. This caused him to drop his unconscious Pokemon on the ground. He then looked to his sides, and saw that they were two tiny, sharp, metal cards. She walked over to him, and brushed a third card gently across his cheek.

What do you think of me, N? asked Marie.

I told you! I hate everything about you! exclaimed N.

Marie responded to this by cutting N's cheek with her card. His cheek now had a long but thin cut, which blood slowly dropped out of. N ignored the pain. Marie licked the blood off his cheek. N's eyes widened in both shock and disgust. She then walked away, but stopped and look down at Zorua, who was laying unconscious on the ground, and prepared her leg to punt him. N stared at her and gasped. There was a brief second of hesitation, then punted Zorua, and he went flying into a nearby tree.

Zorua! N cried, tears streaming down his face again. You monster! You already won the battle, why are you still hurting my friends?! he asked.

Marie then walked back over to N.

I wonder, what would happen if your sisters were in your position? she asked.

You leave my sisters out of this! exclaimed N.

Oh, but they are family. Why leave them out? asked Marie.

I don't know what you want from me, but you've already hurt my friends! Involving my sisters is going too far! N exclaimed.

Maybe I should go pay them a visit. Your Pokemon were far too weak, and so are theirs. she said.

No! Please, I beg you! Leave them alone! They haven't done anything to you! cried N, more tears streaming down his face again.

And what's to stop me? asked Marie.

N stared at her, surprised at just how could this girl is. Marie then grabbed N's shirt and began slashing it with her card a bunch of times, writing something, but he didn't know. When she was finished, she let go and began singing.

Bury all your secrets in my skin.  
Come away with innocence, and leave me with my sins.  
The air around me still feels like a cage And love is just a camouflage for what resembles rage again...

So if you love me, let me go.  
And run away before I know.  
My heart is just too dark to care.  
I can't destroy what isn't there.

Deliver me into my Fate -  
If I'm alone I cannot hate I don't deserve to have you...  
Ooh, my smile was taken long ago,  
If I can change I hope I never know.

While she sang, N thought he could see tears in here eyes, but it was too dark to tell. She then kicked him in the head, knocking him out, and threw a Pokeball, sending out Gengar.

Gengar, use Nightmare, please. she commanded

Gengar created a wicked purple haze, which evaporated around N's head. N then began grimacing, and pulling at his hair, occasionally screaming.

To be continued...  



	17. Chapter 17: Castelia City pt 2

Marie had left Liberty Garden, leaving N laying on the ground, grabbing at his hair, thrashing around, and screaming. After about an hour, White, Cheren and Bianca arrived to where N was, and saw him.

"Is that...N?" asked Bianca.

"And what's Victini doing here with him?" asked Cheren, noticing N's unconscious Pokemon.

"We've got to help him!" exclaimed White.

White and her friends ran over to N, and began shaking him, and screaming at him; trying to awaken him.

"N! Hey, N! Wake up!" they screamed.

They continued this for about ten minutes, but it didn't seem to be doing any good. After a while, Victini eventually regained consciousness, and with tears in his eyes, he began nudging N's shoulder.

"I wonder how Victini knows N." said White.

"Could be that N helped Victini against Team Plasma." said Cheren.

Victini rested his head on N's cheek, crying. When his tears touched N's skin, N slowly stopped screaming and trashing around, then his eyes opened. As soon as he was conscious again, he swung his fist at White. She fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

"Stay away!" shouted N, picking Victini and Servine up.

"White!" cried Bianca.

"You bastard!" shouted Cheren, as he ran towards N, with his fists balled.

"I said stay away!" N shouted, with a fiery rage in his eyes.

N grabbed Cheren's wrist, throwing him against the bark of a tree. N was livid.

"_N, stop! They are friends!_" exclaimed Victini.

"Friends...?" asked N.

N blinked, then looked at White, and gasped. He couldn't believe he actually hit her.

"White! Why are you still here?" he asked.

White got back up. "Never mind that, N! What the hell happened to you?" she asked.

"I...I don't remember." lied N.

"How did you get here anyway? You weren't on the boat." said Cheren, as he got back up.

N knew he needed a way to dodge that question, then noticed that Zorua was missing.

"Zorua? Zorua! Where are you?!" he cried.

"Zorua's missing?" asked White, surprised.

"I can sense his heart...over there!" exclaimed N.

N, with White and her friends following, ran to a tree that was about seven feet away, and found Zorua, unconscious and bleeding near the tree.

"Zorua..." he said, picking Zorua up, cradling him in his arms.

"N, you never told us what you're doing here." said White.

"And what are you doing with Victini?" asked Cheren.

"I found Victini here, badly injured. He was going to eventually die if I hadn't gave him some medicine." explained N.

"Victini saved us from Team Plasma!" exclaimed Bianca.

"What? Team Plasma? What do you mean?" asked N, talking very fast.

"We bumped into Team Plasma here, and some sage guy fought us with three legendary Pokemon." explained Cheren.

"He was going to steal our Pokemon, but then Victini came and fought him so we could escape. I guess he managed to just barely win, and that's why you found him so jacked up." explained White.

"Is that true, Victini?" asked N.

Victini nodded.

"We need to get out of here." N said.

"Yeah, but how? The boat already left." said White.

"I'll ask a friend for help." said N.

N walked over to the ocean, closed his eyes, and stretched his arms out to his sides, his hair blowing gracefully in the wind. As he did this, he felt a twinge of pain in his right arm. He tried not to show his pain to White or her friends.

"What's he doing?" asked Bianca, confused.

"He's got some weird superpower that let's him summon wild Pokemon to him." explained White.

"Superpower? Just what the hell is this guy...?" asked Cheren.

"He's here!" exclaimed N.

A large, blue Pokemon with , a very long neck, a short horn, curly ears, four flippers, and a shell on it's back then emerged from the ocean, and N walked over to him, and began talking to him.

"Hello, my friend." said N, petting the Pokemon. "We're stuck on this island, do you think you could give us a ride back to Castelia City?" he asked.

"_I'd be happy to help!_" exclaimed the Pokemon with a nod.

"Thank you, my friend." said N, as he then faced White and her friends. "This Lapras said he will let us ride on his back, and he'll take us back to Castelia." he said.

"Really? That's great!" said White.

"Wow, a Pokemon back ride! This will be fun!" exclaimed Bianca.

"I'm not very pleased with how you hit White and me earlier, but I owe both you and Victini my thanks." said Cheren.

N, along with White and her friends then got on Lapras's back, as Lapras then began swimming at full speed. Everyone's hair blew wildly in the wind, as N, White, and Bianca held onto their hats, to prevent them from falling into the ocean. After about half an hour, they arrived back at Castelia. They then hopped off of Lapras's back,

"Thank you my friend, you've greatly helped us." said N, waving to Lapras as it swam away.

"Well, I'm quite tired, so I'm going to bed. Good night." said Cheren, walking off with a yawn.

"Night night, White, and N! Thanks again for your help, N!" exclaimed Bianca, as she ran off.

"I hope my sisters haven't woke up." said N.

"Oh? Snuck out, have you?" asked White, with a grin.

"Don't ever tell my sisters what happened tonight, White." N said.

"Why? Afraid you're gonna get in trouble?" teased White.

Before N could answer, he felt sharp pain in his right arm. He grimaced in pain, grabbing onto his arm. He couldn't hide the pain any longer. White looked at him, looking a bit worried.

"Hey, N, are you okay?" she asked.

N looked at her, then quickly let go of his arm.

"I'm fine, it's just a little sore, that's all." N said.

"What's a little sore?" asked a female voice.

Anthea and Concordia had found N, and were now walking over to him and White. N made sure he kept his arm to his side, trying to keep his sisters from noticing that it was hurt.

"N, we found you!" exclaimed Anthea, embracing N in a tight hug.

"N, where in the name of Arceus have you been?" asked Concordia, clearly not pleased.

"I, uh..." said N, looking over to White, hoping for her assistance.

"Uh, I'm kinda sleepy." said White, letting out a fake yawn. "I'm gonna go to bed now, see you later N!" she said, as she ran off.

"Well, N? Where have you been?" asked Concordia once more.

"I was just taking a midnight walk." lied N.

Concordia could see right through his lies, and grabbed N by his shirt collar, and pulled him close to her. She stared at him for a while, then slapped him. Anthea gasped, and N held his hand to his face in shock. Concordia had never hit him before.

"Concordia, what are you doing?!" asked Anthea.

Concordia completely ignored her.

"Do you take me for a fool, N? I wake up in the middle of the night, find you missing, then after several hours of searching for you, I find you hear at the docks, with Victini in your arms, and you think I don't know that you went to Liberty Garden, despite the fact that I told you not to?" asked Concordia, in a loud voice.

"Concordia, calm down." said Anthea.

Concordia looked at her, disappointed. "Why are you always defending everything he does? Have you no concern for what might happen to him?" she asked.

"Of course I do! But..." started Anthea, but Concordia quickly interrupted her.

"You two never want to listen to me, but look at how disobeying me turned out now! Here N is, cuts and a bruise on his face, an obviously hurt arm, and his Pokemon are injured!" she exclaimed.

N and Anthea both looked at the ground in silence. N knew he was guilty for not listening to Concordia.

"We'll deal with this in the morning." said Concordia.

Concordia then grabbed N by his ear, and began dragging him back to the Pokemon Center. N grimaced in pain as she did this. Anthea blinked in surprise; her sister had did this to her plenty of times before, but never to N. She then followed Concordia back to the Pokemon Center, glad she wasn't the one being dragged. When they got back to the Pokemon Center, they returned to the room they had rented, and went to sleep in silence.

When N woke up the next morning, he was in his underwear, and he couldn't see his sisters, or the Pokemon anywhere. His wounds felt like they had been tended too, and his arm was in a cast. About thirty seconds later, Anthea came back in their room, with N's clothes folded over her arm.

"Oh, you're woke! Good morning, N." she said, as she sat on N's bed, and kissed his forehead.

" Anthea, what's going on? Where's Concordia, and the Pokemon?" N asked.

"Concordia took your Pokemon to the nurse, their injuries were too much for his to cure, and while she did that, I decided to wash your clothes, cause they were soaked with rain, and had some blood on them. I also tended to your wounds." explained Anthea.

"Did Concordia see my wounds?" asked N.

"Other than the cuts and bruise on your face, and your dislocated arm, no." said Anthea.

"My arm is dislocated?" asked N, his eyes widening in shock.

"Yeah, that's why I put the cast on it. What happened to you?" she asked.

"I...I don't really remember." lied N.

"N, I can tell you're lying." said Anthea, with a sigh.

When N didn't say anything in response, Anthea stared at his stomach.

"What are you staring at?" N asked.

"The cuts on your chest, they spell out something..." she said

"What...?" N asked, confused.

"It says 'The King of Fools'. Mind telling me what that's about, N?" asked Anthea.

"I told you, I don't remember what happened, but please don't tell Concordia." N said.

Anthea sighed. "Alright, N. Let's get you dressed then." she said, about to put N's shirt over his head.

"I can get dressed myself." said N.

"Not with one arm you can't." said Anthea.

"My arm isn't THAT bad, Anthea." he said.

Anthea stood up and put her hands on her hips.

"Okay, smart guy. I'd like to see you do it with just one arm then." she said.

N rolled his eyes, then tried to put his shirt on himself, but with only one arm, it was literally impossible. Anthea giggled at him, then helped him get it on.

"See? I told you that you can't do it with just one arm!" she said, still giggling.

N said nothing, as Anthea helped him get dressed. Once he was dressed, they went down to the main floor of the Pokemon Center, where they found Concordia, who had just took N's Pokemon back from the nurse. Concordia then walked over to them, holding Zorua, Servine, and Victini. Zorua jumped onto N's shoulder, licking N's face, Servine slithered onto his head, and Victini flew around him, smiling.

"Are they okay?" N asked

"Zorua and Servine are fine, but Victini has a broken jaw. The nurse said he shouldn't battle any time soon." said Concordia. "How did you meet Victini anyway?" she asked.

"He fell out of a tree into my arms, and was badly injured, so I healed him as best as I could." explained N.

"How did he get injured in the first place?" asked Concordia.

"I don't know. He didn't tell me." said N.

Concordia then noticed N's arm in a cast, and gasped.

"Why did you put his arm in a cast, Anthea? Is it broken?" she asked.

"Nope, it's dislocated." explained Anthea.

Concordia looked at her sister as if she said something flat out stupid.

"A cast isn't going to do a single thing about a dislocation." she said.

"It won't? Why not?" asked Anthea.

"I'm not going to sit here and explain to you how a dislocation works, you probably won't understand anyway. Just let me take care of this." said Concordia.

Concordia then took the cast off of N's arm, gently placed her foot on his hip, and began forcefully pulling his arm for a few minutes. N quickly began screaming in pain. Other people in the Pokemon Center stared at them like they were crazy.

"Concordia, what are you doing?!" asked Anthea, putting her hands on her head in shock.

"This will only take a bit." answered Concordia.

As Concordia continued pulling his arm, N continued screaming in intense pain. A few minutes later, she let go, and N quickly grabbed onto his arm, still screaming in pain.

"Ouch! What did you do?!" he asked.

"See if you can move it up and down five times." said Concordia.

N did as she said, lifting his arm above his head then back down five times, grimacing in pain as he did so.

"See, THAT'S how you fix a dislocation." said Concordia proudly.

"I'm sure there was another way..." said Anthea.

"Let's just get going already." said N, holding onto is shoulder, flinching in pain as he walked.

N and his sisters then left the Pokemon Center, headed towards the Castelia City Gym, where they would battle Burgh for their third badge.

_To be continued..._


	18. Chapter 18: Castelia City pt 3

After Concordia's painful way of fixing N's dislocated arm, N and his sisters were now walking through Castelia City, headed towards the gym.

"N, you haven't told me what happened to you at Liberty Garden yet." said Concordia.

N didn't respond to her, and continued walking. Concordia did not look pleased in the slightest.

"Do not ignore me, N! Why won't you just tell me?" she asked.

She then spun him around so he was facing her. She stared intently at him, and he avoiding looking her in the eye. He didn't want to have to lie to her, knowing she'd see right through his lies, so his best option was to keep silent.

"Concordia, if he's not comfortable talking about it right now, just..." said Anthea, but was quickly interrupted by Concordia.

"Anthea, why must you insist on siding against me all the time?" asked Concordia, getting really annoyed.

"Why must you be so bossy? You're making N uncomfortable!" exclaimed Anthea

Anthea then walked behind N, and wrapped her arms around him, then kissed his cheek, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Maybe because I'm the oldest, and clearly the most responsible? Has not trusting me ever got you two anywhere?" asked Concordia.

N certainly didn't want his sisters to break into a fight right now, so he had no choice other than to break his silence.

"We're wasting time. We need to be training the Pokemon for their gym battle." he said, as he gently took Anthea's hands off of him.

Anthea and Concordia both blinked at him, completely shocked. They stared at him with their mouths open, as if N had said something completely bizzare.

"What?" N asked.

"It isn't exactly like you to be so quick to agree with training the Pokemon." said Anthea.

"Indeed, and much less for you to be the one suggesting it." said Concordia.

"All of the Pokemon, except Victini are weak against Bug-type attacks, and Victini is in no condition to battle. Don't you two agree that we really don't have a choice about training first?" asked N.

"Of course, but-" said Anthea, quickly interrupted by N.

"Then let's stop wasting time and get training." N said.

"Alright then. Kirlia, Whismicott, prepare yourselves for battle." said Concordia.

"You too, Gothorita, and Lilligant!" said Anthea.

"Zorua, Servine, brace yourselves." said N.

Zorua hopped down from N's shoulder, and Servine slithered down to the ground, and they faced the other Pokemon, ready for battle. Victini then landed on the ground, next to Zorua and Servine, but N picked him up, then sat him on a nearby bench.

"Not you, Victini. You know you're not in fighting condition." he said, shaking his head.

"_But N, I'm not hurt that bad!_" exclaimed Victini.

"Even if you were in fighting condition, you're a legendary Pokemon. There's no need for a Pokemon so strong to train. You just sit and watch, okay?" said N.

Victini sighed. "_Okay._" he said.

"So, uh, how are we going to do this?" asked Anthea.

"Simple, we'll just have a three way battle, each using one Pokemon at a time. I'll start with Whismicott." said Concordia.

"In that case, I'll start with you, Lilligant!" said Anthea.

"Two Grass-types, may as well make it three. You're up, Servine." said N.

The three Grass-type Pokemon stepped forward, facing each other.

"You three can go wait over there, with Victini." said Concordia.

Zorua, Kirlia, and Gothorita sat on the bench with Victini, waiting for their turn to battle.

"Alright, everybody ready?" asked Concordia.

"Ready!" said N and Anthea, simultaneously.

"Lilligant, start things off with Sleep Powder on Whismicott!" commanded Anthea.

"Whismicott, use Substitute!" commanded Concordia.

"Servine, just use Growth while they are attacking each other." said N.

Lilligant scattered a big cloud of sleep-inducing dust around Whismicott, but Whismicott quickly made a copy of herself, which she hid behind, protecting her from the Sleep Powder. As this happened, Servine's body glowed yellow, as he strengthened his attack power.

"Lilligant, use Quiver Dance!" commanded Anthea.

"Whismicott, stop her with Stun Spore!" commanded Concordia.

"Servine, now, break the substitute with Slam!" commanded N.

Lilligant began dancing, but Whismicott scattered a strange, yellow powder around Lilligant, which paralyzed her. While they did this, Servine slithered over to Whismicott, then slammed his tail down on her substitute, quickly destroying it.

"Lilligant, come on! Use Petal Dance!" commanded Anthea.

Lilligant tried to use her attack, but it was no good, as she couldn't move.

"Whismicott, use Hurricane on Servine!" commanded Concordia.

"Servine, stop her with Attract!" commanded N.

Whismicott began creating hurricane, but before she could finish preparing her attack, Servine blew a dozen kisses at her, causing her eyes to grow into giant hearts, as she canceled her attack.

"Now, Servine, keep using Slam on her until she can't get back up!" commanded N.

"Whismicott, protect yourself with Substitute!" commanded Concordia.

"Lilligant, don't just stand there! Use Giga Drain on Servine!" commanded Anthea.

Servine began repeatedly slamming his tail on Whismicott, and because she was still infatuated by Attract, Whismicott did nothing, and eventually fell down, unable to get back up. Lilligant absorbed some of Servine's energy with Giga Drain, but due to being a Grass-type attack, it didn't do much.

Concordia then picked up Whismicott, and carried her to the bench where the other Pokemon where.

"Rest up, Whismicott. You're up, Kirlia." she said.

Kirlia then followed her back to where Lilligant and Servine where battling.

"Servine, Slam on Lilligant!" commanded N.

"Kirlia, finish Lilligant off with Psybeam!" commanded Concordia.

"Lilligant, get out of there!" cried Anthea.

Servine jumped in the air, then landed by slamming his tail down on Lilligant. At the same time, Kirlia sent a purple beam at Lilligant. Both attacks hit, leaving Lilligant unconscious. Anthea quickly picked up her Pokemon, sat her on the bench with the other Pokemon, then returned with Gothorita.

"Servine, use Leaf Storm on Gothorita!" commanded N.

"Gothorita, use Mirror Coat!" commanded Anthea.

"Kirlia, use Psybeam on Servine to prevent him from escaping!" commanded Concordia.

Servine spun around, creating a tornado made out of leaves, and sent it spinning towards Gothorita, but Gothorita created a giant mirror, which reflected the attack back towards, Servine, twice as strong and fast. Servine tried to slither away, but Kirlia attacked him with a purple beam, which pushed him back, and knocked him down. Before Servine could get back up, the Mirror Coated attack hit him at full force, leaving him unable to battle.

"You did your best, Servine." said N.

N then carried Servine back to the bench, and Zorua immediately ran over to where Kirlia and Gothorita where battling.

"Gothorita, use Shadow Ball on Kirlia!" commanded Anthea.

"Zorua, use Faint Attack on Kirlia!" commanded N.

"Kirlia, use Double Team!" commanded Concordia.

Gothorita hurled a ball made out of shadows at Kirlia, and Zorua approached Kirlia, disarmingly, then attacked with a nasty sucker punch. Kirlia quickly created several clones of herself, which took the hits for her.

"Zorua, again, Faint Attack!" commanded N.

"Kirlia, Teleport!" commanded Concordia.

Zorua approached Kirlia again, but before he could attack Kirlia teleported several feet away, dodging the attack.

"If I can't hit Kirlia, I'll just go for Zorua! Gothorita, use Thunderbolt on Zorua!" commanded Anthea.

"Zorua, dodge it!" commanded N.

Gothorita sent down a bolt of electricity towards Zorua, which Zorua rolled to the side to dodge.

"Anthea, neither of us can land a hit on Kirlia. Our best chance to beat her is by working together, even though this is a three way battle." explained N.

"Work together to bring her down? I like the way you think, N!" said Anthea.

"Two on one, I can still dodge all your attacks." said Concordia.

"We'll see about that! Gothorita, use Shadow Ball on Kirlia!"

"Kirlia, use Teleport!" commanded Concordia.

Gothita hurled another ball of shadows at Kirlia, but Kirlia quickly Teleported out of the way once again.

"Now, Zorua, use Pursuit!" commanded N.

"Kirlia, Double Team!" commanded Concordia.

Zorua quickly dashed over to Kirlia, and extended his claws to slash her back, but Kirlia immediately created several clones of herself, which took the attack for her.

"Gothorita, use Psyshock!" commanded Anthea.

"Kirlia, again, use Double Team!" commanded Concordia.

Gothorita attacked Kirlia with a psychic wave, but once again, Kirlia created several copies of herself, protecting herself from the attack.

"Zorua, now! Finish her with Faint Attack!" commanded N.

Before Kirlia had a chance to do anything else, Zorua hit her with a nasty sucker punch, on the back of her head, which knocked her out.

"We did it! We won!" exclaimed Anthea, thinking the battle was over.

"Zorua, end this with one more Faint Attack!" commanded N.

Zorua ran behind Gothorita, and hit her in the back of her head, with the same punch he used against Kirlia. Gothorita fell down, knocked out cold.

"Wait, what?! I thought we were working together!" exclaimed Anthea, picking up her Pokemon.

Concordia, holding Kirlia, walked over to N and Anthea.

"You forgot that it was a three way battle." said Concordia with a sigh.

"_I did it, N! I won! I'm a lot stronger than before now!_" exclaimed Zorua, hopping onto N's shoulder.

"It doesn't matter who won, we were just training. I'd say all the Pokemon gained strength and more battle experience from that." said N.

"Yeah, let's heal the Pokemon up and then challenge the gym." said Concordia.

They then healed up their Pokemon, then, after giving the Pokemon several hours to rest up, they entered the gym.

"_To be continued..._"


	19. Chapter 19: Castelia pt 4: N vs Burgh

After letting the Pokemon rest up, N and his sisters had now entered the gym, where Burgh was ready to battle them. Anthea and Concordia stood outside of the battlefield, watching, as N was about to begin his gym battle. Victini was watching with them, since he wasn't in fighting condition.

"You're the boy who could speak to Pokemon, from Pinwheel Forest!" exclaimed Burgh.

"That would be me, yes." said N.

"That was quite impressive, how you called over those Gurdurr to carry the skull back to Nacrene City." said Burgh.

"I didn't come here to talk, I came to win the badge." said N.

"Not much of a talker, eh? Very well then. Go, Dwebble!" said Burgh, sending out his Pokemon.

His Pokemon looked like a crab, with orange skin, and a big rock for a shell.

"Servine, you're up. Brace yourself." said N.

Servine slid down from N's shoulders, and stood on the battlefield, facing Dwebble.

"Servine, start things off with Leaf Tornado!" commanded N.

"Dwebble, Withdraw!" commanded Burgh.

Servine spun around, creating a tornado made out of leaves, and sent it spinning towards Dwebble. Right when the attack was about to hit Dwebble, he withdrew his body into his shell, protecting him from the attack.

"Servine, use Growth while he's hiding!" commanded N.

"Dwebble, now, use Smack Down!" commanded Burgh.

As Servine began increasing his attack power, Dwebble came out from hiding, and created a decently big rock, then threw it at Servine. The impact knocked Servine several feet back, and sent him crashing into one of the walls.

"Servine!" cried N.

"Now, Dwebble, use X-Scissor!" commanded Burgh.

"Servine, counter attack with Slam!" commanded N.

Dwebble rushed over to Servine, and as he prepared his claws to slash at Servine, Servine wrapped his tail around Dwebble's body, picked him up, and slammed him down on the battlefield.

"Servine, again, use Slam!" commanded N.

"Dwebble, use Withdraw!" commanded Burgh.

Dwebble quickly withdrew his body back into his shell, as Servine wrapped his tail around him, picked him up, and slammed him down on the battlefield.

"You can't stay in there forever!" exclaimed N. "Servine, use Leaf Tornado!"

"Dwebble, X-Scissor!"

As Servine began spinning around, to create his tornado of leaves, Dwebble popped back out of his shell, then quickly slashed Servine, crossing his claws, as if they were a pair of scissors. Servine shrieked in pain, then fell down, defeated.

"Servine..." said N, as he picked Servine up, and carried him off of the battlefield.

When N returned to the battlefield, Zorua hopped off of his shoulder, ready to battle.

"Dwebble, use Smack-Down!" commanded Burgh.

"Zorua, use Fury Swipes!" commanded N.

Dwebble threw a big rock at Zorua, but Zorua jumped in the air, and began slashing at the rock. After five swipes at the rock, it was cut into a dozen small pebbles.

"Now, Zorua, use Faint Attack!"

"Dwebble, Withdraw!"

Zorua attempted to sucker punch Dwebble on the head, but Dwebble withdrew back into his shell, leaving Zorua's attack hitting the hard shell.

"How can N beat him if he keeps using Withdraw?" asked Anthea, looking concerned.

"_If I was out there, I'd just burn Dwebble's shell off!_" exclaimed Victini.

"Burgh has two Pokemon left, other than Dwebble, so the numbers game isn't in his favor either." said Concordia.

"Zorua, back up!" commanded N.

Confused, Zorua ran three feet away from Dwebble.

"I see you've figured it's useless to attack my Dwebble's shell. I guess we strike now, then! Dwebble, use Rock Blast!" commanded Burgh.

"Zorua, dodge, and use Faint Attack!" commanded N.

Dwebble popped back out of his shell, then began blasting multiple rocks at Zorua. Zorua, while running towards Dwebble, dodged each rock, by sliding under them and jumping over them. Then he was right next to Dwebble, and before Dwebble could use Withdraw again, Zorua sucker punched him in the head, not holding anything back. Dwebble collapsed, unable to continue battling.

"Dwebble, return." said Burgh, returning his Pokemon.

"Zorua did it! He managed to win!" exclaimed Anthea, with a big smile on her face.

"_Heck yeah!_" exclaimed Victini, high fiving Anthea.

"Settle down, the battle isn't over yet. Burgh still has two, unscratched Pokemon. Let's hope Zorua can manage to win, somehow." said Concordia.

"Whirlipede, go!" said Burgh, sending out another Pokemon.

This Pokemon was in a purple, wheel-shaped shell, with red circles on its body, and two horns on it's head.

"Whrilipede, use Steamroller!" commanded Burgh.

"Zorua, dodge!" commanded N.

Whirlipede tucked his horns in, and began rolling towards Zorua at amazing speed. Zorua ran off to the side to avoid it, but Whirlipede quickly changed directions, and rolled right over Zorua, crushing his body.

"Zorua, hang in there!" cried N.

"Whirlipede, once more, use Steamroller!"

"Zorua, fight back with Fury Swipes!"

Whirlipede came rolling towards Zorua again, but Zorua got up, and, once Whirlipede was close enough, Zorua began slashing at his rolling body, which managed to halt Whirlipede's attack.

"Zorua, now, use Pursuit!" commanded N.

"Whirlipede, use Iron Defense!" commanded Burgh.

Zorua jumped at Whirlipede, but Whirlipede instantly hardened his body, causing Zorua to bounce right off of him.

"Zorua, don't give up! Use Pursuit once more!"

"Whrilipede, use Rollout!"

Zorua jumped at Whirlipede again, but this time, Whirlipede rolled at Zorua, colliding into his body. Zorua was knocked several feet back, crashing into a wall.

"Whirlipede, finish this with one more Rollout!"

"Zorua, dodge!"

Whirlipede quickly rolled towards Zorua again, and once he was a few feet away, Zorua jumped to the side, causing Whirlipede to crash into the wall, knocking bits of debris and piles of dust down. Zorua took advantage of this opportunity, and used Illusion to disguise himself as a pile of dust.

"Oh? Where did your Pokemon go?" asked Burgh.

"I would tell you, but that would ruin the plan." said N.

"Wow, Zorua's surely mastered his Illusion ability!" exclaimed Anthea.

"I wonder if it will be enough to beat Whirlipede though." said Concordia.

"Kick his butt, Zorua!" shouted Victini.

"Whirlipede, Zorua could be anywhere, so prepare yourself by using Iron Defense!" commanded Burgh.

"Now's your chance, Zorua! Use Fury Swipes, right on Whirlipede's eyes!"

Whirlipede began hardening his body, then Zorua came out of hiding, and jumped at Whirlipede once again, slashing away at his eye. Whirlipede cried out in pain, his eyes bleeding.

"Whirlipede, use Steamroller!"

"Zorua, use Pursuit!"

Whirlipede could barely see, so he rolled off in a random direction, crashing into another wall. Zorua chased after him, then slashed Whirlipede's back, as hard as he could. Whirlipede fell down, defeated.

"Whirlipede, return." said Burgh, returning his Pokemon to it's Pokeball.

"Yes! Zorua's the boss now!" exclaimed Anthea, grabbing Victini's hands and spinning around with him.

"He may have beat two Pokemon in a row, but three is a much more difficult challenge." said Concordia.

"It's all up to you, Leavanny!" said Burgh, sending out his final Pokemon.

This Pokemon was very thin, and had a round, yellow head, with two red eyes, two long antennas, arms that looked like blades made out of leaves, dark green legs, that looked like pants made out of leaves, and yellow feet sticking out.

"Zorua, use Faint Attack!" commanded N.

"Leavanny, use String Shot!" commanded Burgh.

As Zorua rushed over to Leavanny, Leavanny blew white silk out of her mouth, wrapping Zorua in it. Zorua could barely move now.

"Zorua, tear the silk with your claws!"

"Leavanny, use Leaf Blade!"

While Zorua cut himself free from the silk, Leavanny ran over to him, and sliced down on Zorua's back, using her arm as a sword. Zorua screamed in pain.

"Zorua, keep fighting! Use Fury Swipes!"

"Leavanny, end this with Leaf Blade!"

Zorua tried to begin slashing away at Leavanny, but she simply picked him up with one arm, and Zorua was now flailing about, trying to get down. Leavanny then sliced Zorua's back once more, using her arm as a sword. Zorua fell out of her grip, defeated.

"No, Zorua!" cried N.

"This is terrible..." sighed Concordia.

"No way! Did N actually just lose?" asked Anthea, completely shocked.

Before anyone could argue over it, and before the battle was deemed over, Victini flew onto the battlefield, prepared to fight Leavanny.

"Victini...?" asked N, as he picked Zorua up.

"Oh, looks like the battle isn't over just yet!" said Burgh.

N knew he didn't have any other choice other than to let Victini battle.

"Victini, use Blue Flare!" commanded N.

"Leavanny, String Shot!" commanded Burgh.

Leavanny tried to trap Victini in her silk, but Victini quickly engulfed her in an intense, but beautiful, giant blue flame. Leavanny shrieked in agonizing pain, as she fell over, unconscious.

"Leavanny, return!" said Burgh.

"I know N wouldn't lose!" exclaimed Anthea, clapping her hands, happily.

"Victini certainly is impressive." said Concordia, as she and Anthea walked onto the battlefield.

"_I won the battle for you, N! I told you I'm not hurt that bad!_" exclaimed Victini.

"Not that I don't appreciate it, but that was very foolish, and risky, Victini." said N.

Burgh then walked over to N, and gave him the badge.

"That battle was insectible! You certainly earned the Insect Badge!" he said.

N held the badge up, examining it. It was shaped as a heart, green on the inside, with golden sides and edges.

"_Three badges...just five more and I'm qualified for the Pokemon League_." N thought to himself.

"My turn now!" said Anthea, ready to battle Burgh.

"Uh, hold on, if you girls also want to challenge me, you're going to have to wait until my Pokemon are healed and rested back up." said Burgh.

Several hours later, both Anthea and Concordia had also won the badge, and the trio was now headed leaving Castelia City, heading towards Route 4.

_To be continued..._


	20. Chapter 20: Castelia City pt 5

After beating Burgh for the Insect Badge, N and his sisters went to the Pokemon Center to get their Pokemon fully healed, and they then left Castelia City, and were now on Route 4, headed towards Nimbasa City, where their next Gym Battle awaits. Route 4 was a long street, covered in sand.

"What's up with all the sand?" asked Anthea.

"There's the Desert Resort, northwest from here. There's usually a very harsh sandstorm there." explained Concordia, as she studied the map.

"Desert Resort? What's in this Desert Resort?" asked N.

"Asides from plenty of sand, there's the Relic Castle." said Concordia.

"Relic Castle?" asked N and Anthea, at the same time.

"The Relic Castle is an ancient city built by the hero of truth, 2,500 years ago-" explained Concordia.

N quickly interrupted her. "The hero of truth? That mean's that the light stone just might be there. We have to check it out." he said.

"But N, it's not our job to look for the light stone, father and the sages are taking care of that." said Concordia.

"That doesn't mean we can risk walking right past the light stone. Besides, even if it's not there, it's my destiny to be the new hero of truth. A city built by the original hero is a place I just have to see." argued N.

"Visiting the Relic Castle would be quite a fun adventure, Concordia." said Anthea.

Concordia sighed. "Visiting the Relic Castle is nowhere on our schedule, and it's a very long walk from here to there." she said, folding the map up.

When she put the map away, she noticed that N and Anthea had already took off towards the Desert Resort.

"_Dammit, you two..." _she thought to herself. "Wait up!" she shouted, running after them.

_Meanwhile, back in Castelia City..._

White was outside the Castelia Gym, about to enter, ready to challenge Burgh for the badge, when suddenly, she heard a cry.

"White, help!"

Bianca came running over to White. With Bianca was a girl, with dark skin, wild, indigo hair, red eyes, and wearing a white shirt with yellow collars, white pants, and a pink shirt wrapped around her waist.

"Bianca, what's wrong?" asked White.

"It's Team Plasma! They stole my Munna!" exclaimed Bianca.

"I heard this girl scream, and ran after the thief as fast as I could...but this city is so big and crowded, I'm afraid I lost them." said the girl that was with Bianca.

"Those bastards! I swear when I get my hands on them..." said White.

Burgh then came out of his gym, and noticed the three girls.

"My my! If it isn't Opelucid City's Gym Leader, Iris! And you! You're the girl who fought Team Plasma in Pinwheel Forest! What's everyone doing here?" he asked.

"Burgh, you've got to help us! Team Plasma stole this girls Pokemon!" exclaimed Iris.

"Team Plasma again, eh? Guess we've got no option but to go after them. That said, finding Team Plasma in this huge city is going to be like finding a needle in a haystack." said Burgh.

"We'll split up! I'll take Bianca, and search this way, and you and White should search that way." said Iris, pointing in two different directions.

"Let's get going then!" said White, as they all ran off, in search of Team Plasma.

"Seems that this is the second time that you and I are in search of Team Plasma together, eh White?" asked Burgh, as he and White walked through the Castelia streets.

"Yeah, except last time, it wasn't exactly together. You left me to search on my own, remember?" said White.

"True enough." said Burgh with a laugh.

After about half an hour of searching for Team Plasma, White and Burgh eventually found Angie, Brad, and Mei standing in front of a building, talking to each other. They immediately stopped their conversation when they saw White and Burgh.

"This girl again?" said Mei.

"And Burgh too!" exclaimed Brad.

"Didn't you fools learn your lesson the last time?" asked Angie.

"You no good, Pokemon stealing thieves! If you don't give Bianca her Pokemon back right now, I'm going to make you wish you were never born!" shouted White.

"You brat! You have no right talking to Team Plasma in such a disrespectful way!" exclaimed Angie.

"What makes you think we have to do anything you say?" asked Brad.

"We beat you both in Pinwheel Forest, and we'll do it again, right now! Go, Serperior!" said Mei, sending out her Pokemon.

"Magnezone, go!" said Brad, as he sent out his Pokemon.

"Seviper, put these fools in their place!" said Angie, sending out her Pokemon.

"You may have beat me before, but that was six on one. Now it's three on two, so don't think you'll be beating me again so easily. Leavanny, go!" said Burgh, sending out his Pokemon.

"Scolipede, I choose you!" said White, sending out her Pokemon.

"Serperior, use Wring Out on Scolipede!" commanded Mei.

"Magnezone, use Thunder Wave on Scolipede!" commanded Brad.

"Seviper, use Poison Fang on Leavanny!" commanded Angie.

As Serperior began slithering towards Scolipede, Magnezone quickly shot down a small bolt of electricity on Scolipede, preventing it from avoiding Serperior's attack. While they did this, Seviper slithered over to Leavanny, baring its fangs at her.

"Leavanny, use String Shot!" commanded Burgh.

"Scolipede, use Megahorn!" commanded White.

Once Serperior was inches away from Scolipede, Scolipede ram its horns against Serperior, at full force. Serperior fell down, sliding across the floor. Seviper continued approaching Leavanny, but before she could get close enough to attack, Leavanny blew white silk out of her mouth, wrapping it all around Seviper's body. Seviper stopped moving, and began trying to break free.

"Your efforts are useless! Serperior, help Seviper out!" said Mei.

Serperior slithered over to Seviper, and began chewing the silk off of Sevipers body, then spit it out.

"Magnezone, use Thunderbolt on Scolipede!" commanded Brad.

"Scolipede, get out of there!" commanded White.

Scolipede managed to gather up enough energy to run out of the way, as Magnezone sent down a bolt of electricity, which didn't hit anything.

"Now, Leavanny, use X-Scissor on Serperior!" commanded Burgh.

"Seviper, take Leavanny down with Poison Fang!" commanded Angie

"Serperior, use Wring Out!" commanded Mei.

Serperior wrapped its long body around Leavanny, and before it could began squeezing the life out of Leavanny, she slashed Serperior's neck, crossing her arms, like a pair of scissors. Serperior cried out in pain, then fell down, defeated. Leavanny didn't get a single second to be proud of her victory, as Seviper then injected it's fangs into Leavanny's shoulder. Leavanny screamed in pain, then fell down, poisoned, and unable to continue battling.

"Serperior, return!" said Mei, returning her Pokemon. "Amoonguss, go!" she said, as she sent out her second Pokemon.

"Leavanny, rest up!" said Burgh, also returning his Pokemon. "Whirlipede, your turn!" he said, sending out his next Pokemon.

"Magnezone, finish Scolipede off Thunderbolt!" commanded Brad.

"Scolipede, use Dig!" commanded White.

Scolipede attempted to avoid Magnezone's attack by digging into the ground, but couldn't, due to the paralysis. Magnezone's attack came down fast, striking Scolipede. Scolipede shrieked in pain, as it's whole body was electrocuted, then collapsed, defeated.

"Scolipede!" cried White, returning her Pokemon to it's Pokeball. "Go, Tepig!" she said, as she sent out Tepig.

"Seviper, use Crunch on Whirlipede!" commanded Angie.

"Amoonguss, use Spore on Tepig!" commanded Mei.

"Magnezone, use Flash Cannon on Whirlipede!" commanded Brad.

"Tepig, counter attack with Ember!" commanded White.

"Whirlipede, Steamroller!" commanded Burgh.

Whirlipede tucked in his horns, and began rolling towards Seviper, Magnezone gathered a source of light energy, and released it all at Whirlipede. Whirlipede, blinded by Magnezone's attack, began rolling around in a circle. While he did this, Seviper jumped at him, baring it's fangs, then bit down on Whirlipede. Whirlipede shrieked in pain. As this went on, Amoonguss scattered bursts of spores around Tepig, but she blew sparks of flames at the spores, which burned them to crisps.

Suddenly, Magnezone was scorched by an intense blast of fire, which left it unconscious.

"Magnezone!" exclaimed Brad, returning Magnezone to it's Pokeball.

"What the hell just happened?" asked Angie.

Iris and Bianca then came running over to White and Burgh. Flying next to Iris was a giant, orange Pokemon, with a scaly stomach, short green wings, and short claws.

"We've finally found you!" said Iris.

"Well, it looks like this is now a three on three battle!" exclaimed Burgh.

"Another Gym Leader?" asked Mei.

"No worries, no matter how many Gym Leaders you throw at us, you still don't stand a chance!" exclaimed Angie.

"Yeah, let's end this already! Go, Metagross!" said Brad, sending out his next Pokemon.

"Dragonite, use Thunder Punch on Seviper!" commanded Iris.

"Whirlipede, use Steamroller on Amoonguss!" commanded Burgh.

"Tepig, use Flame Charge on Metagross!" commanded White.

"Seviper, dodge!" commanded Angie.

"Metagross, use Meteor Mash on Tepig!" commanded Brad.

"Amoonguss, use Body Slam on Whirlipede!" commanded Mei.

Dragonite, with his fist balled, and cloaked in electricity, rushed over to Seviper at full speed, as Seviper tried to slither away, but Dragonite was way faster. Dragonite then punched Seviper in the jaw, knocking it out.

Tepig charged at Metagross, with her body engulfed in flames, but her tackle collided with Metagross's giant, metal fist. This sent Tepig flying back several feet, causing her to crash against a trash can. She now lay on the ground, defeated. Tepig's effort, however, was not in vain; Metagross's fist was covered in fire, and it was swinging it's fist around wildly, trying to put out the fire.

Whirlipede rolled towards Amoonguss at full speed, but Amoonguss jumped right over him, then crashed back down on top of Whirlipede. Whirlipede fell down to his side, and couldn't get back up.

"Seviper, return!" said Angie, returning her Pokemon. "Go, Absol!"

Angie then sent out a four legged, wolf-like Pokemon, covered in white fur, and had a scythe on the side of it's head.

"Tepig, return." said White, returning her Pokemon. She didn't have any other Pokemon to send out.

"Whirlipede, return. Dwebble, don't let me down!" said Burgh, returning his Pokemon, and sending out his last one.

Just then, one of the sages came out of the building that the grunts were standing in front of.

"Bronius of of the Seven Sages!" said all three grunts at once, saluting the sage.

"If you interfere with Team Plasma, you will be shown no respite!" he said.

"Not another one!" said Iris.

"Judging by the looks of him, I'm guessing he's gonna be far more powerful than these three as well." said Burgh.

"Once I'm finished with you foolish Gym Leaders, your Pokemon will belong to Team Plasma. Interfering with Team Plasma was the biggest mistake you've ever made. Go, Raikou!" he said, as he sent out his Pokemon.

Raikou was a four legged Pokemon, which stood on all four legs, and had yellow fur with black stripes, long fangs sticking out of it's mouth, white four around it's face, a blue mustache, purple fur on it's back, which looked somewhat like a cape, and a thin, sky blue tail.

"A legendary Pokemon?!" asked both Iris and Burgh at the same time.

_To be continued..._


	21. Chapter 21: Castelia City pt 6

Right when Burgh and Iris thought they had Team Plasma backed into a corner, Bronius, one of the Seven Sages appeared, and sent out a legendary Pokemon known as Raikou.

"You were fools to underestimate the power of Team Plasma." said Bronius.

"Legendary Pokemon or not, we'll still win! Dragonite, use Dragon Rush on Raikou!" commanded Iris.

"Dwebble, use Rock Blast on Raikou!" commanded Burgh.

"Amoonguss, put Dragonite to sleep with Spore!" commanded Mei.

"Raikou, use Thunder on Dragonite!" commanded Bronius.

"Metagross, use Meteor Mash on Dwebble!" commanded Brad.

"Absol, Night Slash on Dragonite!" commanded Angie.

Dwebble began blasting rocks towards Raikou, but Metagross stepped in front of Raikou, and swung its giant fish at Dwebble, smashing all of the rocks in the process, then punching him right in the face, with great force and a huge impact. Dwebble was knocked out cold.

While this happened, Dragonite rushed towards Raikou, but was quickly put to sleep by Amoonguss, then Raikou struck down a giant bolt of electricity, electrocuting Dragonite's entire body. This woke Dragonite up, and he began screaming in pain, then fell to his knees. Before Dragonite could get back up, Absol jumped behind his back, and slashed his neck, using his sharp scythe. Blood began streaming out of Dragonite's neck, as he fell down, defeated.

"Dwebble, return!" said, Burgh, returning his Pokemon to it's Pokeball. "Well, damn. I haven't got any other Pokemon to use. It's all up to you, Iris." he said.

"Right! Go, Haxorus! You too, Salamence!" said Iris, sending out her final two Pokemon.

Haxorus was a tall, bipedal, dinosaur-like Pokemon, covered in green armor, with a green tail, and giant axe shaped tusks. Salamence was a big, dragon Pokemon, which stood on all four legs, covered in blue and orange skin, had a very long tail, two pointy ears, and two red wings. Both dragons let out ferocious battle cries.

"For a kid her age, Iris certainly has some strong Pokemon." said White.

"You know what they say, don't judge a book by it's cover." said Burgh.

"I hope she can get my Munna back, though." said Bianca.

"Amoonguss, put Salamence to sleep with Spore!" commanded Mei.

"Absol, use Night Slash on Haxorus!" commanded Angie.

"Metagross, use Meteor Mash on Haxorus!" commanded Brad.

"Raikou, strike Salamence down with Thunder!" commanded Bronius.

"Salamence, dodge and use Fire Blast on Amoonguss! Haxorus, block Metagross's attack, and use Outrage on Absol!" commanded Iris.

Amoonguss sent a cloud of spores floating towards Salamence, and at the same time, Raikou sent down a giant bolt of lightning towards Salamence, but she quickly flew out of the way, then attack Amoonguss with an intense blast of consuming fire, which sent Amoonguss crashing into a close by building. Amoonguss then fell down, unconscious.

Metagross extended it's giant fist towards Haxorus, for a powerful punch, but Haxorus managed to use his mighty tail to fend off the attack. While Haxorus was blocking Metagross's attack, Absol jumped towards the back of Haxorus neck, ready to slash at his neck with his scythe, but Haxorus spun around, and began rapidly thrusting his tusks at Absol's body. When he was done, Absol fell to the ground with a huge impact, and lay there, knocked out cold.

"Amoonguss, return." said Mei, returning her defeated Pokemon.

"Absol, return." said Angie, returning her Pokemon too.

"Good job, guys! It's two on two now!" exclaimed Iris happily.

"Don't be a fool, this battle will end within a few minutes, in favor of Team Plasma!" exclaimed Bronius.

"I don't think so! Haxorus, use Outrage on Raikou! Salamence, use Fire Blast on Metagross!" commanded Iris.

"Metagross, use Zen Headbutt on Salamence!" commanded Brad.

"Raikou, protect yourself with Reflect!" commanded Bronius.

Metagross jumped into the air, and thrust his head on Salamnce's. Right before Metagross made contact with Salamence, Salamence threw an intense blast of fire at Metagross, which hit it's body at the same time as Metagross headbutted her. Metagross and Salamence both fell out of the air at the same, and crashed down to the ground. The ground shook like as if an earthquake had hit, due to the heavy weight of the two Pokemon. Salamence struggled, but managed to get back on her feet, while Metagross still laid on the ground, knocked out cold.

While this happened, Haxorus began savagely thrusting his tusks at Raikou, but Raikou had put up a giant wall to defend itself. Haxorus kept assaulting the wall until, on about the sixth hit, the wall shattered into tiny pieces, then Haxorus swung his tusks at Raikou one final time, knocking it back several feet.

"Metagross, return!" said Brad, returning his final Pokemon.

"Raikou, get up and finish Salamence off with Thunder!" commanded Bronius.

"Salamence, Draco Meteor! Haxorus, use Outrage one more time!" commanded Iris.

Raikou sent down another giant bolt of lightning down on Salamence, but at the same time, Salamence sent small comets down from the sky, striking them down on Raikou. Raikou and Salamence both fell back down, but this time, Salamence couldn't get back up, while Raikou quickly got back onto it's feet. Before Raikou could even get a second of rest, Haxorus began thrusting his tusks at Raikou. After around eight strikes, Raikou finally fell down again, and this time stayed down, knocked out cold.

"Salamence, get some rest, you deserve it!" exclaimed Iris, returning Salamence to her Pokeball.

"Raikou, return!" said Bronius, returning Raikou.

White's eyes widened in shock, as she, Bianca, and Burgh all sighed in relief.

"She did it! This means I can get my Munna back, right?" asked Bianca.

"I can't believe she actually took down a legendary Pokemon..." said White.

"Haha! I told you, White: never judge a book by it's cover! Iris is the strongest Gym Leader in all of Unova, after all!" exclaimed Burgh, with a laugh.

"You simple minded fools! I'm only getting started!" shouted Bronius.

"What? Come on! Don't tell me he has more Pokemon!" exclaimed White, slamming her fist on a wall in frustration.

"I didn't think I'd have to use my full power, but you leave me no choice. Show yourselves, Entei, and Suicine!" said Bronius, sending out two more Pokemon.

Entei was a beastly, quadruped Pokemon, covered in brown fur, with a face that looked like a gray and golden mask, and had a fluffy cloud on it's back, and also two spiky wings attached to it's shoulders.

Suicine was also a beastly, quadruped Pokemon, covered in blue fur, with a diamond shaped horn, flowing, purple hair, and white diamonds on it's back.

"T-Two more legendary Pokemon?" stuttered Iris.

"Oh come on, you've got to be shitting me!" shouted White, angrily.

"Well...I hate to say it, but we're doomed. There's no way Haxorus can take on two legendary Pokemon on his own." said Burgh.

Before anything else could happen, Ghetsis suddenly appeared, walking through the city, with his hands clasped behind his back, and his robes flowing royally. He stopped when he noticed what was going on, then smiled wickedly.

"My, word! What have we here?" he asked.

"Ghetsis of the Seven Sages!" said the three grunts at once, saluting Ghetsis.

"Master Ghetsis, these fools decided to interfere with Team Plasma, so I'm teaching them a valuable lesson!" said Bronius.

"Oh, is that correct?" asked Ghetsis, looking at Iris, Burgh, White, and Bianca.

"Bullshit! They stole Bianca's Pokemon, of course we're gonna fight back!" exclaimed White.

"What would you say the guiding principle of Team Plasma is, anyway? 'Take what you want from innocent people' " asked Burgh.

"A foolish child has no right owning any Pokemon! We, Team Plasma will save all Pokemon from foolish humans!" exclaimed Angie.

"SILENCE!" said Ghetsis in a loud, threatening voice. This quickly shut everybody up. "Both of you, return your Pokemon." said Ghetsis in a calm voice.

Bronius immediately returned both his Pokemon to their Pokeballs, then, surprised, Iris did the same.

"Tell me, is everyone familiar with the legend of the founding of the Unova region?"

"I am! It's the white Dragon-type Pokemon, right?" asked Iris.

Ghetsis took a step forward, then slowly paced to the side.

"The truth is...the white dragon appeared before a hero who sought the true way of building a world, full of warring people. This white Dragon-type Pokemon shared it's knowledge, and bared it's fangs at anyone who dared to stand against it. Together, the power of this Pokemon and the hero brought unity to the hearts of everyone in the land, and that is how Unova was created." explained Ghetsis.

Ghetsis then stopped his lecture, then slowly paced to the other side.

"We, Team Plasma shall bring back the hero, and that Pokemon to Unova once again! If we can win over people's minds and hearts, we can easily create the world I..., no, Team Plasma desires!" exclaimed Ghetsis.

"There's something about what you're saying that I don't quite understand." said Burgh.

"Oh, and what would that be?" asked Ghetsis.

"One thing we all have in common is that we all care about Pokemon. Remember your speech at Accumula Town? Because of you, I reflected over my relationship with my Pokemon. For that, I thank you. At that time, I swore I would dedicate myself to my Pokemon even stronger! Aren't you guys going to strengthen the bond between Pokemon and humans even more?" said Burgh.

"Mwahahaha! You're more intelligent than I expected! I am quite fond of intelligent people! I'm sure you'll enjoy hearing about this!" exclaimed Ghetsis.

Ghetsis then walked over to Bronius, and pointed at him, smiling.

"From every corner of the world, I have gathered highly intelligent people for our king's benefit. You could call us the Seven Sages. Today, we shall peacefully submit to your opinion, and be on our way. Return that girls Pokemon!" said Ghetsis.

"B-But Sage Ghetsis..." said Angie.

"I said return the Pokemon." said Ghetsis in a low, but very threatening voice, as he looked her in the eye.

"Y-Yes sir!" said Angie.

Angie then threw a Pokeball at Bianca, which Bianca caught, then sent out her Munna, and began hugging it tightly.

"Munna! I'm so glad to see that you're okay! Th-thank you!" she said, looking at Ghetsis.

"What?! Why are you thanking them? They are thieves who steal peoples precious Pokemon!" asked Iris.

"I-I'm just so happy to see that Munna is safe!" said Bianca, still hugging Munna.

"The friendship between Pokemon and people can be very touching. But in order to liberate Pokemon from foolish people, we will revive the legend of Unova, and win over the minds and hearts of everyone. For now, I bid you farewell." said Ghetsis.

With that, Ghetsis, Bronius, and the grunts walked away together.

_To be continued..._


	22. Chapter 22: Relic Castle

N and his sisters had made it to the Desert Resort, where they had to walk through an intense sandstorm. To help themselves breathe in the storm, they, and their Pokemon, were wearing face masks. After hours of walking, which seemed like an eternity, they found a giant hole, which must have been hundreds of feet deep. in the middle of the desert. Next to the hole was several giant construction machines, with were digging into the hole.

"What are those things?" asked N, having never seen anything like this.

"They are construction machines." replied Concordia. "The ones with the large front bucket are called loaders, those ones with the large front boom and bucket are called excavators, and the one with the large front blade, and tracks instead of wheels is a bulldozer." she explained.

"I wonder why they are digging such a giant hole in the middle of the desert." said Anthea curiously.

"I'd assume that the Relic Castle is buried deep down there." said Concordia.

"How would it have got way down there?" asked Anthea, tilting her head.

"Use your head for once. The Relic Castle has been here for over 2,000 years. After so many years, and this harsh sandstorm, it was bound to get buried under eventually." explained Concordia.

"I guess that means someone saved us the trouble of digging it up ourselves. Let's get a closer look." said N.

The trio then walked right over to where the hole was, and inside the hole was more construction machines, a bunch of stairs leading to the bottom of the hole, and in the center was a large, green palace-like building, covered in sand, and full of cracks and holes, and many towers that seemed randomly attached. It was clear that this place was here for many, many years. N and Anthea sat on their knees, looking down into the hole with widened eyes, and amazed smiles on their faces, while Concordia was staring at the construction machines, with a puzzled look on her face.

"There's something odd about these machines." said Concordia.

N and Anthea both glanced back at their sister, not sure what she was talking about.

"What do you mean?" asked Anthea.

"There's nobody inside them, so they shouldn't be able to move." replied Concordia.

"Are they supposed to require somebody inside them to work?" asked N.

"I've certainly never heard of construction machines that can operate on their own." said Concordia.

Concordia then stopped studying the construction machines, and looked over at N and Anthea, and gasped in shock.

"What are you two doing, sitting in the sand like that? You're getting your clothes all dirty, get up!" she exclaimed, as she pulled them both back onto their feet.

"Who cares about keeping clean right now? This is an amazing sight! I'll bet that the Relic Castle is full of rare treasures worth a fortune!" exclaimed Anthea.

"So what? We already have a fortune." said Concordia.

"We've done enough staring and talking, let's go inside now." said N.

N and Anthea then walked onto the stairs that lead to the bottom of the hole.

"Wait, you two!" shouted Concordia.

N and Anthea both stopped, then turned around, facing their sister.

"What's the hold up?" asked Anthea.

"Do you two not see how deep that hole is? It already took us long enough to get here, and it's clearly a very long way to the bottom of that hole. It will probably take us hours to reach the bottom, and then we'll have to explore that entire castle, looking for something that might not even be there, which will take several more hours, and by then, it will be way too dark and far too late for us to leave this desert and head to Nimbasa. If we do this, we're gonna end up having to sleep in there overnight." explained Concordia.

"What's your point?" asked Anthea.

"We can't afford to be wasting that much time, and sleeping in a place like that simply can't be safe." said Concordia.

"We are not turning back, Concordia." said N firmly.

"You're outnumbered, sis, so just go with the flow." said Anthea.

N and Anthea both started back walking down the stairs, and with a sigh, Concordia followed them. They continued walking for hours, until they finally reached the bottom. When they got their, all three of them were breathing heavily.

"Bloody hell I'm exhausted." said Anthea, as she pulled a bottle of water out of her bag, and quickly gulped it down.

"Watch your language!" exclaimed Concordia, swiftly slapping her sisters bottom.

"Ouch!" shouted Anthea, rubbing her butt.

"Are you two coming or not?" said N, as he then entered the Relic Castle.

"Hey, wait up N!" said both Anthea and Concordia, as they ran into the castle.

The inside of the castle seemed to be stone rooms with sandy floors, with cylinder-shaped pillars holding up the ceiling. They were a few Yamask, Confagrigus, and Sigilyph, floating around mysteriously. They were safe from the sandstorm inside here, so they took off their face masks.

"This isn't exactly what I was expecting." said Anthea, as they walked around.

"This place was truly completely buried in sand, that explains why it looks the way it does now." said Concordia.

"Maybe the light stone is hidden in the far back." said N.

As they continued exploring each room of the Relic Castle, and looking carefully in places that the light stone could be hidden, N eventually stopped, and stood frozen, with a worried look on his face. His sisters noticed, and stared at him with concern.

"Is something wrong, N?" they asked.

"I can sense the heart of a hurt and neglected Pokemon nearby." replied N.

N then quickly took off in the direction where he could sense the Pokemon's heart, with his sisters following behind him. After a while, they found a large, bird-like Pokemon, with a scaly, red face, green scales on the back of it's neck, going to it's forehead, yellow feathers on it's body and blue wings, and green and blue feathers around it's feet and long, red tail. The Pokemon was trapped under a pile of debris, and a fallen pillar.

"An Archeops? Those are supposed to be extinct!" exclaimed Concordia.

"What happened to it?" asked Anthea.

"Hey, are you alright?" asked N, in a gentle voice, as he crouched down near the Archeops.

The Archeops noticed it was no longer alone, then looked up, frightened, but calmed down when he saw N. He had never seen N before, but there was just something about N that made Archeops trust him.

"_I can't get out of here! Help me please, I've been stuck here for almost a whole day!"_ replied Archeops.

"Hang on, we're gonna get you out of here. Anthea, Concordia, help me get him out of here!" shouted N, glancing back at his sisters.

"Right!" they both replied, as they ran over to N's sides.

They then began shoving the debris out of the way, then gently pulled Archeops free. Once he was free, Archeops flew into N's arms, hugging him fiercely. N hugged back tightly.

"_Thank you! I don't think I would've ever been able to get out of their if you hadn't showed up._" said Archeops.

"You're welcome. I won't ever sit by idly while there's a Pokemon who needs my help." said N.

"_Y-you can understand me?_" asked Archeops, surprised.

"That's correct, me an my sisters here all have the ability to talk to Pokemon. I also have the ability to connect my heart with the heart of a Pokemon." explained N.

N, Anthea and Concordia all smiled at Archeops.

"_I've never heard of humans like that. You're certainly peculiar ones._" said Archeops.

"What are you doing in a place like this anyway? I can sense that your heart is suffering from emotional neglect." asked N.

Archeops slowly flew out of N's arms, and onto the sandy floor, with a sad look now on his face.

"_My trainer had me battle against another trainer's Pokemon, which I did, but I felt as if I was losing, so I got too scared to continue fighting._" replied Archeops.

"That makes sense, Pokemon of your species have the ability Defeatist, which makes you afraid of losing." said Concordia.

"What happened after that?" asked Anthea, curiously.

"_I wouldn't fight anymore, so I lost the battle. When it was over, my trainer was really mad at me, so he released me, and left me on my own. There aren't any other Pokemon like me that I know of, which left me with nowhere to go, so I flew away to the desert, then found this place. I decided to sleep here, but then that pillar fell on me._" explained Archeops.

"That's terrible...I wish humans didn't do such terrible things to Pokemon. If they didn't then humans and Pokemon could live together in harmony." said N, placing his hand on Archeops's shoulder, a few tears rolling down his face.

"So, uh, where are you going to go now? You can't just stay here by yourself for the rest of your life." said Concordia.

"_Oh, uh, well, I can't go back to my old trainer, and there aren't any other Pokemon like me, so..._" said Archeops, staring at the floor.

"You can come with us." said N, cupping his hand under Archeops's chin, and looking him in the eye.

Archeops blinked in surprise. "_I-I can? You're really willing to let me stay with you?_" he asked.

"You're an innocent, neglected Pokemon, with nowhere to go. I want to save all Pokemon, of course I'll let you stay with us." replied N.

"I don't know what to say...thank you! You're so kind and caring, unlike other humans." said Archeops.

"Uh, guys, if we don't want to be here all night, we're going to have to finish our search soon, so I'd suggest we continue our search here." said Concordia, clearing her throat.

N and his sisters then began searching this room for the light stone in silence, but weren't having any luck. After a couple of hours of searching, they could hear the sound of footsteps, which meant someone else must be there too.

"It sounds like we're not alone here after all." said N.

"But who else could possibly be here? We've been searching for hours and there hasn't been a trace of anyone else in here." said Anthea.

"Keep your voices down. Whoever it is must be the one in charge of the weird construction machines, and most likely won't be happy to see us." whispered Concordia.

The footsteps began getting closer, and sounded as if they were approaching towards the room where they were.

"We're getting out of here, right now!" whispered Concordia.

She then grabbed N and Anthea by their wrists, and, without giving them a chance to argue, began running back to the entrance. After a while, they couldn't hear the footsteps anymore, so she let go of their wrists, and placed her hands on her knees, panting.

"I think we're safe now." she said.

"My dear children! What are you doing here?" suddenly said a deep, male voice from behind them.

N, Anthea, and Concordia all spun around simultaneously, and they were now staring at Ghetsis, with their jaws dropped and mouths trembling. They looked like they had just saw a ghost.

"F-Father?" stuttered all three at the same time.

"This is quite a surprise. What are you doing here? You should have arrived in Nimbasa by now." asked Ghetsis, with disappointment clear on his face.

Anthea and Concordia were both hanging their heads in shame, completely speechless, so N stepped forward and decided to explain.

"I figured that since this place was once ruled by the original hero of truth and Reshiram, then there's a high chance that the light stone might be located here." he explained.

Ghetsis stared at him intently for a short moment, then let out a laugh.

"Ha, you're quite clever, my boy! However, I can assure you that the light stone is nowhere here. You see, I've already searched this entire pathetic excuse for a castle, and haven't found anything of worth." said Ghetsis, as he slowly paced to the side. "You three do not need to worry about finding the light stone, that is the job of the Seven Sages." he said, as he slowly paced to the other side.

Concordia then looked up. "F-Father, does that mean that those machines that dug up this hole belong to Team Plasma?" she asked.

"Correct." answered Ghetsis. "Only Team Plasma is capable of such advanced technology, hahaha!" he said, with an evil laugh. The only response to this was silence.

"Well then, I suppose it's time to get you three to Nimbasa, where you should be in the first place." he said, as he walked his kids out of the castle.

Once they were back outside, they could see that the sun had already set, and the sky was now night time dark.

"Hydreigon, come out!" commanded Ghetsis, throwing a Pokeball.

Out from the Pokeball emerged a large, dragon Pokemon, which seemed to be floating in the air, and had six thin, black wings, a blue body with two purple stripes, two very short and thin legs, which looked impossible to stand on, a very long blue tail with a purple stripes, a blue face, with spiky purple hair on it's head, and two black arms, with faces instead of hands. Hydreigon let out a ferocious roar, which could strike terror into anyone's heart.

"Get on." he said, pointing to his Pokemon, while glaring at his kids.

Once N, his sisters, and all their Pokemon were all on Hydreigon's back, Ghetsis then got on.

"Hydreigon, take us to Nimbasa City." commanded Ghetsis.

Hydreigon then flew off at high speed, heading towards Nimbasa City.

_To be continued..._


	23. Chapter 23: Nimbasa pt 1

_It was a bright and sunny day, but one wouldn't be able to realize, as their were many tall trees, blocking out the sunshine from above. There was a light fog all around, not thick enough to obscure one's vision, but enough to notice, and a thin layer of leaves, and fallen branches on the ground. N, his sisters, and White were in the woods, collecting firewood. _

"_I'm getting a bit tired." said N, placing his hands on his knees._

"_Why don't you take a rest then? We can handle this." said Concordia._

_Concordia, Anthea, and White then walked off deeper in the woods, so N rested under a tree, and slowly dosed off. A while later, he woke up to a voice calling his name, so he opened his eyes, and saw Marie, with his hat in her hand, and leaning over, poking his nose with hers. _

"_Hello, N, I bet you're happy to see me!" she exclaimed._

_N's eyes widened in shock. 'Why her again? Why now of all times?' he thought to himself. Marie then kissed his forehead, then slowly stepped back, waving his hat in front of him. N balled his fists tightly, gritting his teeth at her, then stood up, and grabbed his hat from her, and put it back on his head. Marie smiled at him._

"_May I have this dance?" she asked, extending her hands to him._

_N backed up, looking completely confused. "W-What are you talking about?" he asked._

"_I want to dance with you." replied Marie, cocking her head and smiling._

_N looked at her like she was crazy, then she grabbed his hands, put one on her shoulder, and the other on her hip, and began leading him in ballroom dancing. N was far too surprised and confused to fight it._

"_How has you day been, N?" she asked._

_N responded with silence. "What the hell is going on here?" he thought to himself._

"_Why are you ignoring me, N? We've known each other for a long time, you know you can tell me anything." said Marie in a singsong voice._

_N then grew sick of this, and pushed her off of him, causing her to fall on the ground. _

"_I don't know you, and you certainly don't know me!" he exclaimed._

_She looked up at him, with a frown on her face, and a tear rolling down her cheek. She then stood up, and dusted herself off. Suddenly, the fog seemed to get thicker, with the shadow of her hat covering her eyes, but N could see a faint green and blue glow. Looking past her, he could see a pair of tombstones. _

"_Would you like to go see them?" asked Marie, pointing towards the tombstones, her eyes still hidden under the shadow of her hat._

_Before N could reply, Marie grabbed his hand, and lead him over to the tombstones. When they were next to the tombstones, N looked at them curiously, and noticed that there was writing on them. One read "Anthea Harmonia" and the other read "Concordia Harmonia". N's jaw dropped and his mouth trembled. "What did she do to them?" he thought to himself._

"_Do you know what these are, N?" asked Marie._

_N clenched and unclenched his fists, with an angered look on his face, then turned around to face her._

"_What did you do to them?!" he asked._

"_These little slabs of rocks are called tombstones, the ground they are on is where a dead body is buried. When someone dies, they are buried in the ground, and a tombstone is placed to mark it with the dead person's name." she explained._

"_W-What are you saying?" asked N._

"_In other words, your sisters are dead. I couldn't find White, but I'm sure she's running around here somewhere." answered Marie._

_N dropped to his knees, trembling, and suddenly crying. _

"_No...they can't be dead! You're just trying to mess with my head!" he shouted, through his sobs._

"_Would you like me to show you?" asked Marie._

_N, not answering, stared at the ground, softly crying. His face was covered in tears, which slowly dropped to the ground. Marie then pulled a shovel seemingly out of nowhere, and slammed it on the ground in front of him._

"_I can dig up the bodies for you." she said._

_N, still crying, stood back up, snatched the shovel from her, and swung it at her, rage clear in his eyes, despite his tears. _

"_You monster!" he shouted, as he swung the shovel down on her._

_The shovel collided down on her shoulder with huge force, breaking in half upon hitting her. Her arm bent at a strange angle, clearly broken, and her shirt's sleeve was being soaked in blood, but she didn't react to it._

"_I'll take that as a no then." she said. "How does it feel to dance with the devil?" she asked._

"_Shut your mouth!" exclaimed N._

_N then charged at her, swinging his fists wildly at her. Marie ducked under his fists, and kicked him in the stomach, hit him in the face with her unharmed arm, then kicked him in the face, which knocked him down to the ground. His face was now bruised, and he had a black eye, but he got right back up, and tackled her to the ground. He was now on top of her, staring her in the eyes, with murder clear in his eyes. _

_Suddenly, White came running in their direction, carrying plenty of firewood._

"_Hey, N! I found some..." she said, then let out a scream, and dropped the firewood, completely startled at the sight of N and Marie fighting._

_N, distracted, looked up at her. "White, get out of here!" he shouted._

"_N, what's going on?" she asked._

_Marie used this distraction to her advantage, rolling and knocking N off of her, then began stomping on his chest, causing him to scream in pain. White screamed, with tears in her eyes, then shoved Marie away from N, grabbed N, and began running away._

"_Come back, N, don't you want to join your sisters?" yelled Marie._

"_You monster! I am going to rip you to shreds!" shouted back N._

_N then attempted to run back towards her, but he was injured, which left him weak enough for White to drag him away against his will. After a while of running through the woods, White found a cottage, which they went in, and climbed up the stairs, hiding in the top room. _

"_What do you think you're doing? I have to destroy her! She killed my sisters!" shouted N, crying._

_Before White could answer, Mei's dead body appeared, swinging from a noose, crashing through the window, then just hung there limply._

"_Mei, no! Why her too?" cried N._

_They could then hear Marie began singing, in a creepy voice._

"_I'm at the door now~_

_I'm coming up the steps~_

_I'm at the top of the steps~_

_I'm at your door~"_

_Marie then broke down the door, with a giant scythe, then quickly swung it down at N and White._

N then woke up screaming in horror, thrashing around wildly.

"N, please calm down!" cried Anthea, slightly shaking N.

N flinched at her touch, then quickly jolted up, and swung the back of his fast at her, hitting her mouth, and knocked her down to the floor. Her lips were now swollen, and bleeding.

"Ouch!" she cried, as she fell to the floor.

N blinked, then looked down at her, suddenly realizing that she was still alive.

"Anthea..." he said, then ran over to her, hugging her tightly, and crying hysterically.

Anthea looked shocked at first, then hugged him back fiercely, patting his back, as he cried into her shoulder.

"Shh, N, it's alright. You're okay now." she said in a soothing voice.

"You're alive...you're really still alive! I knew she was just messing with my head. Where's Concordia? She's still alive too, right? We have to get out of here!" N said, in a very fast voice, still crying into Anthea's shoulder.

"Slow down, N. It's alright, you had a bad dream, that's all." she said, trying to calm him down.

"A bad dream...?" N asked.

N then looked around him, and noticed that they were in a room in a Pokemon Center. He couldn't see Concordia, or their Pokemon anywhere.

"What's going on? When did we get here? Where are Concordia and the Pokemon?" he asked.

"Father flew us to Nimbasa on Hydreigon's back last night. You fell asleep during the ride, and it was late, so Concordia rented this room for us, and I brought you here, and put you in bed. As for Concordia, she got up early, and took the Pokemon for a walk through the city. Luckily, that was before you began screaming." explained Anthea.

"Right." replied N.

He then looked at Anthea's face, and noticed that her lips were swollen, and bleeding.

"I...I hurt you?" he asked, in an apologetic voice.

"It's alright, N, I'm fine, don't worry about it. We should be worrying about cleaning up in here, before Concordia comes back and yells at us for not keeping clean." said Anthea.

N looked around the room again, and noticed that his bed covers were all over the floor, a dresser was knocked over, they were fallen objects all over the place, and dirty female clothes and underwear on the floor.

"I did all this in my sleep?" asked N, surprised.

"Well, you can be pretty messy in your sleep, but not ALL of it is your mess." replied Anthea, pointing to her dirty clothes on the floor.

"You changed your clothes in the middle of the room?" asked N.

"Hey, Pokemon Center bathrooms are disgusting, you can't blame me for not wanting to go in there! Besides, Concordia wasn't here, and you were asleep! Anyway, the more time we spend sitting here talking, the higher the chance that Concordia will see this mess, so let's just get cleaning!" replied Anthea, blushing deep red.

So N and Anthea began cleaning their room up, and after a while of cleaning in silence, Anthea decided to break the silence.

"So, N, what did you dream about anyway?" she asked.

N looked down at the floor, twirling his necklace.

"I don't really remember." he lied.

"N, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, but you don't have to sit there and lie to me."

"_How do they always know when I'm lying?_" asked N, in his head. "Don't tell Concordia about this." he said.

"Don't worry, I won't, I promise." replied Anthea.

When they were done cleaning up their room, they went to the main floor of the Pokemon Center, then exited the building, and were now outside. They both looked around the city, with huge, amazed grins on their faces. It was a huge, lively city, almost as big as Castelia, full of tall buildings, as well as plenty of smaller ones, and a giant Ferris wheel in the center. The Ferris Wheel is what caught N's eye most of all.

"Wow, Anthea, look at that! That's a Ferris Wheel, right? Can we ride it, please?" he asked.

N grabbed his sister's hand, and pointing towards the Ferris Wheel, bouncing on his heels, like an excited child. He had seen a Ferris Wheel in a book before, when he was a little kid, and quickly fell in love with them.

"Oh, I sure hope we can, it looks like fun. I'm sure Concordia will decide to be a party pooper like always, though." said Anthea.

A few moments later, Concordia, with all their Pokemon with her, came walking over to N and Anthea.

"It's about time you two got up, I was just about to go check up on you." said Concordia, as she came over to them.

Zorua jumped onto N's shoulder, licking his face, Victini flew circles around his head, smiling, Servine slithered up, around his shoulders, and Archeops flew into his arms, hugging him. Concordia then looked at Anthea, and noticed her swollen lips.

"What happened to you?" she asked, pointing.

"Oh, uh, I bumped into the wall." replied Anthea, rubbing the back of her head, with a small grin on her face.

Concordia sighed, and shook her head in disappointment. "You are such a klutz, Anthea." she said.

"Concordia, the Ferris Wheel. Can we ride it?" N asked, still bouncing on his heels, pointing to the Ferris Wheel.

"That's not why we came here, N. We need to get the gym badge, then head straight for Driftveil City. We already got here later than we should have, we have no time for more detours." answered Concordia.

N and Anthea both looked very disappointed to hear this.

"I told you, N, she's a party pooper." said Anthea, patting N's shoulder.

Concordia looked at N, and noticed just how upset he was.

"Alright, well...I suppose if we all get the badge quickly, then you two might be able to ride it. And that's an IF." she said.

N looked up happily, and got a big smile on his face. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" he exclaimed, as he dashed off.

"Hey, N, wait up!" his sisters both called after him, as they tried to keep up with him.

_To be continued...  
_


	24. Chapter 24: Nimbasa pt 2 N vs Elesa

N and his sisters had arrived at the Nimbasa Gym, but inside, instead of a battlefield, there was a huge roller coaster.

"I think we went to the wrong place." said Anthea.

"What is this thing anyway?" said N, looking curiously at the roller coaster.

"It's a roller coaster, I've heard that in order to get to the battlefield, we have to ride it." explained Concordia.

"Wow! We really get to ride a roller coaster? This will be fun!" said Anthea, excitedly, as they all got on.

"Why can't it be required that we ride the Ferris Wheel instead? Let's hope this is over with quickly." said N, as they strapped themselves in.

"Be careful what you wish for, N." said Concordia.

Once they, and all the Pokemon were strapped in, the roller coaster then took off, and instead of starting off slowly, it started going at extreme speed, probably as fast as it could go. Anthea threw her arms in the air, screaming in excitement, while Concordia kept herself composed, and N, as well as all of the Pokemon looked like they were going to be sick.

"Why do we have to do this? This is insane!" said N.

"Insane? Don't be silly, this is incredible!" exclaimed Anthea.

"It's almost over...I think." said Concordia.

After about fifteen more minutes, with the roller coaster not slowing down at all, it finally came to a stop. They all got off the roller coaster, and now, they all were extremely dizzy, struggling to stand up straight.

"Thank Arceus that's over." said N, placing his hands on his knees.

"That...was only fun for the first three minutes." said Anthea, clearly dizzy.

"Maybe we should take a short rest here, before you challenge the gym leader, N." said Concordia.

N stood up straight, and shook his head. "No way, there's no time to waste. The sooner this is over, the quicker we get to ride the Ferris Wheel." replied N.

N then pushed open the door that led to the battlefield, and inside was completely dark, but then, a spotlight shined on N, and then on a blonde-haired girl, wearing long, black stockings, a yellow dress, with black lines in the middle, and white headphones on her head, with long, black cords that stretched to the floor. The room then lit up, and N walked onto the battlefield, and his sisters, their Pokemon, and Victini went into the audience.

"Welcome to the grand stage! I'm Elesa, leader of the Nimbasa City Gym. I can see the ride left you dizzy!" exclaimed Elesa.

N was still struggling to stand up straight, but just wanted this over with, so he could ride the Ferris Wheel.

"Can we just get straight to the battle? Servine, you're up." he said.

Servine then slithered in front of N, ready for battle.

"Oh, impatient are we? In that case, go, Emolga!" said Elesa,

She then sent out a Pokemon that looked like a flying squirrel, with white fur, black fur on her back, yellow cheeks, and a black tail, shaped as a lightning bolt.

"If you thought the roller coaster made you dizzy, just wait until you see what Pokemon will do to you. Emolga, use Acrobatics!" commanded Elesa.

"Servine, use Slam!" commanded N.

Emolga began flying at high speed around Servine, leaving him spinning in circles, trying to catch her, then she struck his back, knocking him down. Servine got back on his feet, staggering due to being dizzy.

"Servine, stop her with Attract!"

"Emolga, you also use Attract!"

Both Pokemon blew a dozen kisses to each other, sending hearts flying towards each other, but Emolga flew away from Servine's in time, while Servine was way too dizzy to dodge, and got hit by all of the hearts, which turned his eyes into giant hearts.

"The whole roller coaster ride was a set up, to leave N weakened for the battle?" asked Anthea.

"_No fair, that's cheap play! She should be disqualified!_" exclaimed Victini, with an angry look on his face.

"It's not the most sportsmanship-like thing to do, but Gym Leaders are allowed to have types of gym puzzles or challenges that a trainer must solve." explained Concordia.

"Servine, snap out of it and use Leaf Tornado!" commanded N

"Emolga, finish him off with Aerial Ace!" commanded Elesa.

Servine, just stood there, staggering, barely on his feet, as Emolga flew straight over to him, and stroke his neck. Servine then fell down, unable to continue battling.

"No, Servine!" said N, as he picked Servine up, carrying him off of the battlefield.

"Poor Servine, he didn't shine at all." said Elesa, disappointingly.

"This battle has only just begun! Archeops, you're up!" said N.

Archeops then flew slowly onto the battlefield, ready to face Emolga. He was clearly still dizzy from the roller coaster, but he was prepared to fight.

"Emolga's a Flying-type, and Archeops is a Rock-type! This will go in his favor for sure!" exclaimed Anthea.

"But Emolga is also part Electric-type, and Archeops is part Flying-type, so Emolga also has a type advantage. The odds are 50/50 here." said Concordia.

"_Come on Archeops, you can do it!_" shouted Victini.

"Archeops, let's end this in one shot! Use Head Smash!" commanded N.

"Emolga, dodge!" commanded Elesa.

Archeops flew towards Emolga, thrusting his head forward, but Emolga swiftly higher up in the air, and Archeops had put too much energy into his attack to stop, so he crashed into the wall, leaving a giant hole and many cracks in it.

"Emolga, use Electro Ball!"

"Archeops, fight back with another Head Smash!"

Emolga made a ball of electricity with her tail, then flung it at Archeops, but Archeops was too dizzy, tired, and hurt to move, so he got hit by Emolga's attack, which sent him flying into another wall, unconscious.

"Oh no, Archeops!" cried N, as he ran over to Archeops, then carried him off the battlefield.

"Dang, N's only got Zorua left already! What the heck does he think he's doing?" asked Anthea.

"I think all he has on his mind right now is the Ferris Wheel, so he's just trying to win this battle as quickly as he can, without even thinking his moves through." said Concordia.

"_No way! N can't lose like this, he's way better than this! It's only because of the cheap roller coaster trick!_" said Victini.

"Is this as bright as you can shine? You haven't even touched Emolga yet." said Elesa, with a hand on her hip.

"Zorua, you're up. I know you can do this!" said N, as Zorua hopped onto the battlefield.

"Emolga, use Aerial Ace!" commanded Elesa.

"Zorua, use Faint Attack!" commanded N.

Emolga flew towards Zorua, and at the same time that she stroke him, Zorua sucker punched her in the back of her head, knocking her out of the air.

"Oh, now you show some shine? Emolga, Zorua clearly isn't dizzy enough, so use Acrobatics!"

"Zorua, get out of there!"

Emolga quickly started flying circles around Zorua, no matter where he ran, causing him to get dizzy, then stroke his back, knocking him off his feet.

"Zorua, get up and use Fury Swipes!"

"Emolga, Attract!"

Emolga started blowing kisses at Zorua, which sent a dozen hearts flying at him, but Zorua started furiously slashing away at each heart that came his way, tearing them all apart.

"Rejecting our love, are you? Emolga, make him pay! Use Electro Ball!"

"Zorua, send it flying back at Emolga, use your strongest Fury Swipes ever!"

Emolga flung a ball of electricity at Zorua, which got closer and closer each second.

"Not yet Zorua, just a little closer..."

The ball of electricity now was just a foot away from Zorua.

"Now, Zorua! Redirect it back at her!"

Zorua then began slashing away furiously on the ball of electricity, which halted it's movement, then Zorua slashed at one more, very hard time, which sent it flying right back at Emolga.

"What in the world...?" asked Elesa.

The ball then hit Emolga's entire body, sending her crashing into the wall, then she slowly slid down to the floor, unconscious.

"Your Zorua is truly shining brightly now!" said Elesa, as she returned Emolga to her Pokeball.

"Wow, Zorua is incredible! He beat Emolga with her own attack!" said Anthea, clapping.

"I guess his pulled his head back together. He still has two more to beat, though." said Concordia.

"_Zorua can't be stopped! Keep it going!_" shouted Victini.

"Zebstrika, it's your turn! Show them how a true star shines!" said Elesa, sending out a Zebra-like Pokemon, with mostly black fur, and white stripes, in the shape of lightning bolts, a line of white fur going from his head to his back, and a white tail.

"Zorua, use Faint Attack!" commanded N.

"Zebstrika, use Flame Charge!" commanded Elesa.

As Zorua charged towards Zebstrika, Zebstrika stamped his feet wildly on the floor, engulfing himself in flames, then charged towards Zorua at amazing speed, then both Pokemon collided into each other. Zebstrika was knocked a few feet back, and Zorua was knocked several feet back, and also off his feet.

"Zebstrika, bring this battle to it's finale! Use Double Kick!"

"Zorua, dodge!"

Zebstrika ran over to Zorua, then turned around, and began using his hind legs, repeatedly trying to kick Zorua, at amazing speed. Zorua ducked, rolled, and jumped over the kicks, trying to dodge each kick, but ended up getting hit right in the head, which sent him crashing through a wall, unconscious.

"Zorua!" cried N, as he then carried Zorua off the battlefield.

"No, it can't be! N can't lost just like that!" said Anthea.

Concordia sighed. "There was no way Zorua could beat three Pokemon in a row, especially after being dizzy from the roller coaster." she said.

N stood on the battlefield, pulling away at his hair, speechless.

"Hey kid, if you don't send out another Pokemon in three minutes, I'm going to have to assume you haven't got anymore." said Elesa.

Fed up, Victini flew onto the battlefield, in front of N, ready to battle, even if he wasn't medically cleared. N didn't even notice, as he had his eyes closed, and was still pulling away at his hair. Victini was getting really annoyed, so he blew a small, weak fire at N's hand, which wasn't strong enough to burn him, but enough to get his attention. N hissed in pain, then looked down and saw Victini.

"Victini...?" he asked.

"_Snap out of it, N! You're losing this battle because you're too worried about not getting to ride the Ferris Wheel! Just let me take it from here!_" exclaimed Victini.

N blinked in surprise, knowing Victini was right. "But, Victini, you're not..." he said

"Don't give me that, N! I'm fine! Don't you trust me?" asked Victini, with pleading eyes.

N's jaw dropped, and he was silent for a few moments. "Alright, I'm sorry Victini. You're up! Let's win this together!" he said.

Victini flew around in the hair happily, then stood on the battlefield, ready to win.

"Looks like the show will go on! Zebstrika, use Wild Charge!" commanded Elesa.

"Victini, use V-Create!" commanded N.

Zebstrika, with his whole body covered in electricity, charged towards Victini at full speed, and Victini, with hot flames in the shape of a V on his head, hurled himself at Zebstrika, causing both Pokemon to crash into each other. Zebstrika was sent crashing into a wall, defeated, while Victini was simply knocked off his feet, and popped right back up.

"You two are shining even brighter than me right now! However, I shall just turn up my shine to a new level!" exclaimed Elesa. "Come forth, my electric queen, Tynamo!" she said, as she sent out her final Pokemon.

Tynamo was a very small Pokemon, that looked like a floating with fish, with a red mouth, and a wiggly tail.

"That's her boss? Is she mocking N?" asked Anthea.

"I honestly have no idea how she plans to win with that." said Concordia.

"Tynamo, strike Victini with Tackle!" commanded Elesa.

Before N could even give Victini a command, Tynamo charged at Victini in the blink of an eye, tackling him with huge impact, which knocked Victini several feet back, but Victini got right back up.

"Again, Tynamo, Tackle!"

"Victini, Seering Shot!"

Victini tried to attack, but once again Tynamo stroke way too fast, knocking Victini off his feet, however, Victini got right back up again.

"Victini, try again, Seering Shot!"

"Tynamo, dodge it!"

"We're aren't aiming for Tynamo." said N calmly.

"What?" asked Elesa, confused.

Victini sent down an inferno of scarlet flames, which Tynamo swiftly floated high up in the air to dodge, leaving Victini's attack hitting the floor. This set the floor around Victini on fire, leaving no safe way for Tynamo to strike.

"Wow, that was very clever of N!" said Anthea, applauding.

"It seems that he's gotten smarter." said Concordia, with a smile.

"Hmm, how can we attack you with all those flames in the way?" asked Elesa, puzzled.

"You won't get the chance too. Victini, end this with Blue Flare!"

Victini then flew up in the air with Tynamo, and engulfed her in an intense, yet beautiful, blue flame. Tynamo screamed in agonizing pain, as she fell out of the air, defeated.

"Wow! You two shine so brightly, I'm nearly blinded!" exclaimed Elesa, returning her Pokemon to it's Pokeball.

"N did it! He won! I knew he couldn't lose just like that!" exclaimed Anthea, happily, as she and Concordia walked over to N.

The flames on the battlefield disappeared, and Elesa walked over to N, handing him the gym badge.

"Here you go, the Bolt Badge. A bright star like you certainly deserves it!" she said.

N held up the badge, examining it. The badge was golden, and in the shape of a lightning bolt.

"_My fourth badge...that means I'm halfway there. Just four more and I'm qualified for the Pokemon League._" he thought to himself, as he put the badge in it's case.

"While you two battle her, I'm going to take my Pokemon to the Pokemon Center, to let them rest up." said N.

"Alright, but stay in the Pokemon Center until we're done, alright?" said Concordia.

"Alright..." said N, although he knew he'd have trouble doing that.

N then left the gym, and went to the Pokemon Center to get his Pokemon healed up.

_To be continued..._


	25. Chapter 25: Nimbasa pt 3

After beating Elesa for the Bolt Badge, N took his Pokemon to the Pokemon Center, and was now sitting on his bed, waiting for them to be healed. He was hoping his sisters would be done getting the gym badge soon, so that they could ride the Ferris Wheel.

Meanwhile, Angie, Brad, and Mei were in Nimbasa, causing trouble again. This time, they were bullying an old man.

"We know you run the daycare on Route 2, old man!" said Angie, grabbing the old man by his shirt.

"How do we know, you might ask? Because we're Team Plasma, that's how!" said Brad.

"We're freeing Pokemon from ignorant people. Since you run the daycare, we figured that you must have a lot of Pokemon!" exclaimed Mei.

The old man squirmed, trying to get away, but Brad and Mei went to his sides, and held him in place.

"Let me go, you young hooligans!" he shouted.

Just then, White, Cheren, and Bianca arrived in Nimbasa, and the first thing that caught their eyes was Team Plasma holding down the old man.

"These guys again? Why do they show up wherever we go?" asked Bianca.

"This time they're stooping so low as on to bully an old, defensless man, what a bother." said Cheren, hands in his pockets.

White balled her fists, and ran over to the three Team Plasma Grunts.

"Hey, let him go! What the hell could you possibly want from him?" she shouted.

Angie let go of the old man, turning around to face White and her friends.

"You foolish kids again?" she asked.

"How many times do we have to beat you until you learn you don't stand a chance against us?" asked Mei.

"You tell me. Let's go, Tepig!" said White, sending out her Pokemon.

"Dewott, you too!" said Bianca, as she sent out her Pokemon.

"Servine, let's do this!" said Cheren, sending out his Pokemon.

The three Pokemon stood side by side, ready to battle Team Plasma.

"If we can't get anything out of this old man, we'll just take your Pokemon instead! Seviper, teach them a lesson they'll never forget!" said Angie, sending out her Pokemon.

Brad and Mei then dropped the old man, and he quickly ran away as soon as they did.

"Magnezone, make it so that they never interfere with us again!" said Brad, sending out his Pokemon.

"Your Pokemon deserve better than you! Serperior, help us free their Pokemon!" said Mei, sending out her Pokemon.

Seviper, Magnezone, and Serperior stood side by side, prepared to take down the other three Pokemon.

"Tepig, use Ember on Serperior!" commanded White.

"Servine, use Leech Seed on Magnezone!" commanded Cheren.

"Dewott, use Razor Shell on Seviper!" commanded Bianca.

"Seviper, dodge and use Poison Fang on Servine!" commanded Angie.

"Magnezone, use Thunderbolt on Dewott!" commanded Brad.

"Serperior, use Hyper Beam on Tepig!" commanded Mei.

Tepig blew sparks of flame out of her nose, towards Serperior, but Serperior jumped high in the air, then attacked Tepig with a huge, powerful beam, that had such a huge impact, it created a whole in the ground, and instantly knocked Tepig out.

While this happened, Dewott charged towards Seviper, ready to strike, but Magnezone stroke it with a bolt of electricity, knocking out. At the same time, Servine tried to plant seeds under Magnezone, but Seviper bit down into his back, injecting poison in, causing him to slowly pass out, due to the poison.

"Tepig, return!"

"Dewott, return!"

"Servine, return!"

White, Bianca, and Cheren all returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs at the same time.

"Damn, they took us all down in just one hit..." said White.

"This isn't good, it seems that they've gotten even stronger than before..." said Cheren.

"What are we going to do?" asked Bianca.

"You fools. Have you finally realized that you stand no chance against us?" asked Angie, crossing her arms.

"Don't be ridiculous! Go, Scolipede!" said White, sending out her next Pokemon.

"Tranquill, go!" said Cheren, sending out his next Pokemon.

"Munna, you too!" said Bianca, sending her next Pokemon out.

"There's no sense in continuing a battle you've already lost, just give up now!" said Mei, but she didn't give Serperior a command, as he needed to recharge, after using Hyper Beam.

"Magnezone, use Thunderbolt on Tranquill!" commanded Brad.

"Seviper, use Screech on Scolipede!" commanded Angie.

"Munna, use Future Sight!" commanded Bianca.

"Scolipede, use Megahorn on Serperior!" commanded White.

"Tranquill, use Detect!" commanded Cheren.

Magnezone sent down a bolt of electricity on Tranquill, but Tranquill, protected himself with an invisible barrier. At the same time, Munna glowed darkly, but nothing seemed to happen, and Scolipede rushed over to Serperior, with his horn extended, but Seviper let out a screech so awful, it caused Scolipede to stop moving.

"Serperior, now, use Leaf Blade on Munna!"

"Seviper, use Crunch on Scolipede!"

"Magnezone, use Thunderbolt on Tranquill!"

"Tranquill, use Air Slash on Seviper!"

"Munna, use Hypnosis on Magnezone!"

"Scolipede, use Steamroller on Seviper!"

Magnezone tried to shoot Tranquill with a bolt of electricity, but Munna put it to sleep with a hypnotizing beam. Serperior then jumped into the air, then sliced down on Munna, using his tail as a sword. Munna fell to the ground, defeated.

While this happened, Seviper tried to bite down into Scolipede's skin, but he was assaulted by a blade of air, from Tranquill, then Scolipede curled up into a ball, and rolled over Seviper's body, defeating him.

"Munna, return!" said Bianca, returning Munna to her Pokeball. "Go, Herdier!" she said, sending out her final Pokemon.

"Seviper, return, and go, Absol!" said Angie, returning her Pokemon, and sending out her next.

"Scolipede, use Megahorn on Absol!" commanded White.

"Herdier, use Take Down on Magnezone!" commanded Bianca.

"Tranquill, use Air Slash on Serperior!" commanded Cheren.

"Serperior, use Hyper Beam on Tranquill!" commanded Mei.

"Absol, use Night Slash on Scolipede!" commanded Angie.

"Magnezone, wake up already!" shouted Brad.

Scolipede rushed towards Absol, horn extended, but Absol jumped out of the way, then slashed at his back, using his scythe. Scolipede screamed in pain, as he fell down to the side, defeated. While this happened, Herdier jumped into the air, tackling Magnezone down to the ground, and at the same time, Tranquill assaulted Serperior with blades of air, that made Serperior hiss in pain, then Serperior attacked Tranquill with a huge, powerful beam, that instantly knocked him out. After all this happened, a psychic attack suddenly stroke Magnezone, defeating it.

"Magnezone, return! Go, Metagross!" said Brad, sending out his next Pokemon.

"Tranquill, return! Liepard, you're up!" said Cheren, sending out his final Pokemon.

Liepard was a Pokemon that resembled a leopard, with yellow feet, a yellow stomach and neck, purple fur on his back and head, pink eyes, and a purple tail.

"Scolipede, return, and come on out, Darmanitan!" said White, sending out her next Pokemon.

Darmanitan was a round, red, furry, ape-like Pokemon, with fiery red eyebrows.

"Metagross, use Meteor Mash on Herdier!" commanded Brad.

"Herdier, fight back with Take Down!" commanded Bianca.

"Absol, use Superpower on Liepard!" commanded Angie.

"Liepard, dodge it!" commanded Cheren.

"Darmanitan, use Flare Blitz on Serperior!" commanded White.

"Serperior, dodge it!" commanded Mei.

Darmanitan charged at Serperior, engulfed in flames, and Serperior couldn't dodge, as he still had to recharge, from using Hyper Beam, so he took in the full damage from Darmanitan's attack, which hit with huge force, knocking him several feet back, then he slid across the ground, defeated.

While this happened, Absol tried to attack Liepard, with great strength, but Liepard jumped back, dodging it, and at the same time, Herdier charged at Metagross, but before he could make contact, Metagross punched him in the head, with such strength, it knocked Herdier out cold.

"Herdier, return!" said Bianca, returning Herdier to his Pokeball.

"Serperior, return, you did good. Go, Amoonguss!" said Mei, sending out her next Pokemon.

"Liepard, use Slash on Absol!" commanded Cheren.

"Darmanitan, use Flare Blitz on Metagross!" commanded White.

"Absol, Superpower!" commanded Angie.

"Amoonguss, use Spore on Darmanitan!" commanded Mei.

"Metagross, use Zen Headbutt on Darmanitan!" commanded Brad.

Darmanitan began running towards Metagross, at full speed, but as he was running, Amoonguss put him to sleep, then Metagross ran forward, and slammed it's giant head against Darmanitan's, causing Darmanitan to fall down, unconscious.

While that happened, Liepard tried to slash Absol with his claws, but Absol dodged to the side, then attacked Liepard with enormous strength, knocking him out.

"Liepard, return." said Cheren.

"Darmanitan, return..." said White, knowing she only had one more Pokemon she could use, but it was a recently hatched Pokemon, and it'd be three on one.

The three Team Plasma Grunts had triumphant looks on their faces.

"We've beat you once again! Have you learned not to interfere in our plans again?" asked Angie.

"Whether you have or not doesn't matter, we're taking your Pokemon anyway, they deserve far better than you." said Mei.

"That's right! So just hand over your Pokemon peacefully." said Brad.

The three grunts then walked over to White and her friends, about to take their Pokeballs, then suddenly, to everybody's surprise, a metal card swooshed passed Brad's face, cutting him across the cheek. Blood was now dripping from his cheek, to the ground.

"What the hell?" he asked, shocked.

The source of the card was then revealed, as a slow song started.

"_Ring-a-round a ro-sie..._

_A pocket full of po-sies"_

Marie came into view, taking slow, steady footsteps, walking towards the group.

"_A-shesss...A-shesss..._"

She walked right past White and her friends, and stopped in front of them, facing the Team Plasma Grunts.

"_We all fall down._"

_To be continued..._


	26. Chapter 26: Nimbasa pt 4

White and her friends had confronted Team Plasma, but in the end, Team Plasma was victorious. Right when the Team Plasma Grunts were going to steal their Pokemon, Marie appeared, standing in front of White and her friends, and facing the Team Plasma Grunts.

"I suggest you step back." said Marie, pulling a metal card out of her sleeve, pointing it at the Grunts.

"Another little brat?" asked Angie, with disgust.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" asked Brad.

"Me? I'm Marie, I think. I challenge you three to a 3 on 3 battle." she replied.

"You fool! You dare interfere with Team Plasma?" asked Brad.

"We'll just beat you, then free your Pokemon, along with there's!" said Mei.

"My, my, my, more misguided fools. Don't you know when you're beaten? Maybe if they were a hundred of you here, you'd stand a slim chance." replied Marie, with a wicked grin on her face.

White and her friends stared at Marie, with puzzled looks on their faces.

"Looks like we've got an ally." said Cheren.

"Do you know her, White?" asked Bianca.

"No, I've never seen her before." said White.

"Learn your place! When we're done with you, you'll never open that stupid mouth of yours ever again!" shouted Angie.

Marie giggled at them. "Prove it. Please come on out, Luxray, Aggron, and Bisharp." she said, as three Pokeballs slide out of her sleeve, sending out three Pokemon.

Luxray was a yellow, quadrupedal, beastly Pokemon, with yellow skin, and black fur, and a star shape on the end of her long, pointy tail.

Bisharp was a humanoid, bipdeal Pokemon, with a round, red and black head, topped with a double edged ax blade, shoulders like bladed shoulder pads, glove-like hands, and multiple blades down it's body.

Aggron was a large, armored Pokemon, with two horns on it's silver, armored head, sharp teeth, huge, muscular arms, and a thick, armored, black body.

"She's got some pretty powerful Pokemon..." said Mei, taking a step back, with a startled look on her face.

"All the better for Team Plasma, right? Metagross, use Meteor Mash on Bisharp!" commanded Brad.

"Absol, use Superpower on Aggron!" commanded Angie.

"Amoonguss, use Giga Drain on Luxray!" commanded Mei.

"Luxray, please use Fire Fang on Metagross, Bisharp, please us Protect, and Aggron, use Heavy Slam on Absol, please." commanded Marie.

Metagross swung it's giant fist at Bisharp, but Bisharp created an invisible barrier, protecting himself, and leaving Metagross vulnerable. Luxray took advantage of this opportunity, rushing over to Metagross, and biting down down it, with her teeth cloaked in flames.

While this happened, Absol rushed over to Aggron, trying to attack him, with great strength, but right in time, Aggron jumped over Absol, then slammed his heavy body down on Absol, flattening him like a pancake. Then, Amoonguss began draining out a large amount of Luxray's energy.

"We're wasting time! Just take down the girl, not the Pokemon! Absol, get up, and attack her with Night Slash!" commanded Angie.

"What? They're going to try to kill her!" said White.

"Oh no!" cried Bianca.

"Now this makes them legit criminals, this is against the law." said Cheren.

Absol got back up, then due to being hurt, slowly ran over to Marie, and tried to slash her neck with his scythe, but she dodged, with a back-flip, landing on all fours.

"Metagross, hit her with Meteor Mash!" commanded Brad.

"Amoonguss, make her suffer with Toxic!" commanded Mei.

Metagross swung it's giant fist at Marie, but she managed to dodge, with a front flip over Metagross's head. Metagross then turned around, and swung it's fist at her again, but she dodged with a back flip, landing were she originally stood. While she was regaining her balance, Amoonguss hurled a blob of poison at her, which didn't seem to do anything.

"Luxray, use Wild Charge on Absol, Bisharp, use Night Slash on Metagross, and Aggron, use Head Smash on Amoonguss, please." commanded Marie.

"Absol, use Sucker Punch on Luxray!"

"Amoonguss, use Giga Drain on Aggron!"

"Metagross, use Meteor Mash on Bisharp!"

Luxray ran over to Absol, cloaked in electricity, as Absol also ran over to Luxray, but Absol sucker punched Luxray, before she could land her attack, knocking her down to the ground. Bisharp slashed at Metagross's face, using his sharp arm as a blade, but Metagross counter-attacked, by swinging it's giant fist at Bisharp. Both Pokemon fell down, Metagross unconscious, but Bisharp got back up.

While that happened, Amoonguss tried to drain out Aggron's energy, but Aggron dodged to the side, then then charged at full speed, smashing his giant, armored head against Amoonguss's.

"Drat! Metagross, return!" said Brad, returning his Pokemon.

"Absol, finish Luxray off with with Night Slash!" commanded Angie.

"Amoonguss, get up and put Aggron to sleep with Spore!" commanded Mei.

"Luxray, use Wild Charge on Absol again, Bisharp, use Night Slash on Amoonguss, Aggron, use Head Smash on Amoonguss again, please." commanded Marie

Luxray and Absol both charged at each other at the same time, Absol slashing Luxray's neck with his scythe, and Luxray tackled Absol, cloaked in electricity. Both Pokemon fell down, defeated. While this happened, Bisharp and Aggron both tried to attack Amoonguss at the same time, but Amoonguss put Aggron to sleep, and Bisharp's attack landed, knocking Amoonguss out.

"H-How did we lose?" stuttered Mei, with a frightened look on her face, as she returned her Pokemon to it's Pokeball.

"Damn it! Absol, return!" said Angie, returning her Pokemon to it's Pokeball.

White, Cheren, and Bianca all sighed in relief, glad that Marie managed to win.

"She won! That means we're safe, right?" asked Bianca.

"She's quite mysterious, though, and you don't find Pokemon like Luxray in Unova." said Cheren, scratching his chin.

"An enemy of Team Plasma is an ally of mine!" exclaimed White.

"Shit! What are we going to do now?" asked Brad, stepping back.

Marie chuckled. "Jumpluff, do your thing please!" said Marie.

A Jumpluff then flew down from the roof of a nearby building, and dropped sleeping powder on Angie and Brad, which instantly put them both to sleep.

"Angie, Brad!" cried Mei, knowing she was now all on her own.

Marie then walked over to Mei slowly, as Mei continuously backed up, but ended up bumping into the wall of a building, then Marie grabbed Mei's hip, pulling her close, slightly brushing her lips against her cheek, and putting her mouth right next to her ear.

"What do you think your Lord N would think of your recent actions, Mei?" she whispered, with extremely cold breath.

Mei's eyes widened in shock. "_Who is she? How does she know my name? How does she know Lord N?_" she thought to herself.

White, Cheren, and Bianca still stood there, watching, with puzzled looks on their faces.

"This is getting..awkward, so I'm gonna go now, bye!" said Bianca, as she ran off somewhere.

"Is she sexually harassing her..?' asked Cheren.

"What is she saying?" asked White.

"Just imagine if he finds out." whispered Marie.

Mei's eyes began to water, and she began sobbing, then shoved Marie off of her, and ran away, looking for N. Marie then turned to White and Cheren, smiling, as she walked about a foot away from them.

"Are you guys o-" her eyes suddenly had a fog in them, and she fell down, succumbing to the poison.

"What the hell just happened?" asked White, as she and Cheren ran over to Marie's sides.

"It's the result of Toxic, remember? Toxic is a poison that starts off weak, and slowly gets worse and worse." explained Cheren.

""That quickly? She didn't seem affected by it at all until now." said White.

"My guess is that she was just ignoring it, but it was actually getting worse and worse." replied Cheren.

"Why didn't she just dodge the Toxic anyway? She was moving so fast, she must have been able to dodge it." asked White.

"Well, you were standing just a few feet behind her, so if she had, then it would have hit you." said Cheren.

"Are you saying she protected me?" asked White.

"It's just a theory, we don't know anything about her. Anyway, if she isn't treated soon, she might die." said Cheren.

"We've got to get her to the Pokemon Center then!" exclaimed White.

White and Cheren then began carrying Marie to the Pokemon Center, going as fast as they could. Once they got there, they talked to a Nurse, who sent Marie to a hospital room in the Pokemon Center. Cheren then left the Pokemon Center, and after a while, the Nurse left Marie's hospital room.

"She'll live, but she shouldn't move for a day or two." said the Nurse, as she walked away.

White then entered Marie's hospital room, walked over to her bed, and looked down at her. Noticing this, Marie slowly raised her arm, and began mouthing something, too weak to speak. White leaned over, reading her lips, and figured that she was trying to say "I need you". Marie then grabbed White's hand, and pulled her on top of her, and began hugging her tightly. White, completely shocked, and confused, just sat there for a few moments, then hugged her back.

_Meanwhile..._

N had just received his Pokemon back from the Nurse, and was now deciding what to do while he waited for his sisters to both finish their gym battle.

"I guess we're not going to have time to ride the Ferris Wheel." he sighed.

"_Just be sneaky, N! If you ride now, maybe you won't get caught._" suggested Zorua.

"And if Concordia DOES catch me?" asked N, with a raised eyebrow.

"_Just be sneaky like a fox, and you won't!_" replied Zorua.

"_You won't get another chance to ride it any time soon, anyway, N._" said Victini, sitting under N's hat.

"I guess you're both right, but, if Concordia finds out, I'm blaming you two." said N, as he left the Pokemon Center, and began walking over to where the Ferris Wheel was.

After a while of walking, N arrived at the Ferris Wheel, but when he tried to get on, the man operating it didn't lower the bars for him to get on.

"Sorry kid, but we don't allow anyone to ride this Ferris Wheel alone, and Pokemon aren't allowed on." said the man.

N looked at this man with disgust. "Pokemon aren't allowed to ride? Why not? They deserve just as much rights as any human!" he exclaimed.

"Easy kid, I don't make the rules here, I'm just doing my job." replied the man.

_Meanwhile..._

White had just left the Pokemon Center, and after a while of walking through the city, she spotted Mei a distance away.

"Team Plasma is still here? I'll teach this no good thief a lesson!" said White.

White then began chasing after Mei, but ended up losing sight of her. Still determined, White continued running through the city, in pursuit of Mei, until she ended up bumping into N, who was still arguing with the man who operates the Ferris Wheel.

_To be continued..._


	27. Chapter 27: Nimbasa pt 5

After running all through the city, in pursuit of Mei, White had ended up bumping into N instead.

"White? It's sure fancy meeting you here." said N, who looked surprised to see her.

"N, I'm looking for Team Plasma? Have you seen any them here?" asked White.

N frowned at this, and was about to suggest that she shouldn't be interfering with Team Plasma, but then Zorua had an idea.

"_N, tell her that if she rides the Ferris Wheel with you, she'll be able to see the entire city._" suggested Zorua.

Without thinking twice, N quickly took Zorua's idea.

"No, I haven't, but since your looking for them, why don't you ride the Ferris Wheel with me?" he asked.

"The Ferris Wheel...?" asked White.

"I'm sure you'll be able to get a birds eye view of the entire city from up there, and they won't let you ride it by yourself." said N.

"Then I'll be able to to find them no matter where they try to hide, brilliant idea, N!" exclaimed White.

N then sat his Pokemon on the ground, since they wouldn't be allowed to ride with him.

"You guys will be okay without me for a while, right?" asked N, sitting on his knees, and petting them.

"_Of course we will, you know we're strong, N!_'" exclaimed Victini.

So N and White then get on the Ferris Wheel together, and once they were both seated, it began moving up slowly. N sat there with a big grin on his face, and White was looking out the window, in search of Mei.

"I love Ferris Wheels." said N, trying to get her attention.

"They are certainly useful for catching thieves." replied White, still looking out the window.

"The circular motion...the mechanics...they're like a collection of elegant formulas." explained N.

White stopped looking out the window, staring at him.

"You like Ferris Wheels because of the math? Damn, N, you're even more of a nerd than Cheren!" she exclaimed.

"I'm even more of a what...?" asked N, as he had never heard that word for.

White facepalmed. "Come on now, N, you can't be THAT sheltered." she said.

N didn't reply to this, so White started back staring out the window, occasionally glancing back at N, then quickly looking back out the window. After several moments of silence, N decided to say something.

"I wish my friends could ride with me, they're missing out on the fun." sighed N.

"Your friends...? Oh, you mean your Pokemon?" asked White, turning back to N.

N replied with a nod.

"I never really noticed it until today, but you don't keep your Pokemon in Pokeballs, N. If you did, then they wouldn't have to be out there alone." said White.

N suddenly began clenching his fists, and frowning. The very thought of putting his Pokemon in Pokeballs disgusted him.

"Are you saying I should confine my friends into tiny little balls, taking away their freedom?" he asked, in a loud voice.

"I wouldn't put it like that..." replied White, but she was quickly interrupted by N.

"Who's to say Pokemon belong inside Pokeballs? That's basically treating them as slaves, which is wrong! Pokemon should be treated as equals...as friends! Capturing Pokemon in Pokeballs is a sin that must be atoned for." he exclaimed.

"A sin? N, now you're starting to sound like Team Plasma." replied White.

"Good, then! Team Plasma fights for what's right, and they have my utmost respect!" said N.

"N, you've just been hypnotized by that Ghetsis man's speech in Accumula Town, that's all." said White.

Before N could reply, the Ferris Wheel came to a stop, as the ride was over.

"Damn, N! You're little rant caused me to stop tracking Team Plasma, and now my chance is ruined!" complained White.

"Excuse me for caring about my friends..." replied N, twirling his necklace, as they got out of the Ferris Wheel.

Once they were out of the Ferris Wheel, they noticed Mei, who was sitting in the grass, next to N's Pokemon. Before Mei could do, or say anything, White quickly dashed off towards her, and Mei got up, and began running away. N stared at them both, unsure what he should do.

"I found you, you little thief! Trying to steal his Pokemon now, are you?" said White, as she was running after Mei.

"M-My lo-!" cried Mei, but couldn't finish her sentence, as White had just tackled her to the ground.

White was now on top of her, and began repeatedly slamming her head into the ground. Mei tried to squirm away, but White kept her held in place, then began punching her in the face.

"Ouch! Get off me! My Lord, please help me!" cried Mei, knowing she stood no chance in a fight against White.

Before White could react to hearing Mei call N "My Lord", N was suddenly next to both of them, and, with great force, pushed White off of Mei, and helped Mei up to her feet, brushing her clothes off. Mei blushed as he did this.

"N...?" asked White, hoping she was just hearing things.

"T-thank you, My Lord." said Mei, with a bow.

"It's alright, you're safe now. I will battle her, to help you escape." said N.

"_My Lord is going to battle for me...?_" asked Mei, blushing deep red.

"N, what the hell is going on?!" asked White in a demanding voice, as she stood back up.

N sighed. "I can't keep my true identity hidden forever. White, first I must tell you that I am the king of Team Plasma; twelve years ago, my father asked me to work with him to save all Pokemon." explained N.

White stood there with her mouth wide open. "This guy of all people is the one leading Team Plasma? No, there's no way...he's not like the rest of them." she thought to herself, even though she knew it must be true.

"White, I told you before that your Tepig's voice is very intriguing, correct? I would like to hear her voice again, right now." said N.

As if on cue, N's Pokemon all stood next to him, looking prepared for a fight.

"So let me get this straight, you and your...minions go around telling everybody how bad Pokemon battles are, but in the end, you're challenging me to a battle? Fine then! I'll just tear you apart, and then kick that little bitch's ass, like I was before!" exclaimed White, pointing to Mei.

"What did you just ca-" asked Mei, but was silenced by N, who covered her mouth with his hand, causing her to blush.

"It's okay, Mei, she can't hurt you now. Go, and let my battle cover your escape." he said.

"Scolipede, let's get this over with!" said White, sending out her first Pokemon.

"That's not Tepig." said N, with a sigh. "Archeops, you're up." he said.

Archeops then flew in front of N, ready to battle.

"Scolipede, use Megahorn!" commanded White.

"Archeops, Sky Attack!" commanded N.

Scolipede charge towards Archeops, with his horn extended forward, but Archeops flew high into the sky, avoiding the attack, forcing Scolipede to come to a halt. Archeops then, at full speed, came flying down at Scolipede.

"Scolipede, get out of the way with dig!"

Scolipede quickly dug a whole in the ground, hiding in it, which caused Archeops to crash into the ground. Archeops struggled to get up for a bit, then got back in the air.

"Scolipede, now! Come up and use Poison Tail!"

"Archeops, use Heat Wave!" commanded N.

Scolipede popped out of the ground, slamming his tail on Archeops, but at the same time, Archeops exhaled a fiery hot breath on Scolipede. Both Pokemon fell to the ground at the same time, while Archeops managed to get up after some struggling, but Scolipede was defeated.

"Scolipede, return!" said White, returning Scolipede to his pokeball. "_He beat me with one hit? How could he have got so much stronger? He's never been able to defeat me before!_"

"_Amazing...my Lord is so impressive!_" thought Mei, as she watched the battle, instead of escaping.

"Now send out your Tepig, White." demanded N.

"You shut your mouth! I don't have to do what you say!" said White, as she threw another Pokeball, sending out Darmanitan.

"Don't you dare to talk to my Lord like that! Show your respect!" shouted Mei.

"You shut up, you little bitch! Once I'm done with him, I'm going to make you regret the day you were born!" exclaimed White, pointing to Mei, then focusing back on the battle. "Darmanitan, use Superpower!" she commanded.

"Archeops, fight back with Head Smash!" commanded N.

Both Pokemon charged at each other, then collided into each other, both hitting each other with powerful attacks, knocking each other out cold. N picked up Archeops, then sent Servine to battle.

"Darmanitan, return..." said White, returning her Pokemon. "_How did he beat both of my Pokemon in just one shot? There's no way anyone can get that much stronger in such a short amount of time._" she thought to herself.

"Why do you keep sending forth your other Pokemon? There is no need for you to send them out, you're only getting them hurt." said N.

"_My only Pokemon left other than Tepig is just a newly hatched one, so there's no way he'll stand a chance against N...but I refuse to let him get what he wants out of me!_" White thought to herself. "Go, Scraggy!"

She then sent out a small, yellow, bipedal Pokemon, with large teeth, nubby fingers, a red path on his belly, and saggy skin.

"Scraggy, use Low Kick!"

"Servine, use Slam!"

Scraggy ran over to Servine, but before he could do anything, Servine picked him up with his tail, then slammed him down on the ground, with a huge impact, knocking Scraggy out.

"Scraggy, return..." said White, returning Scraggy to his Pokeball.

"White, why do you not just send out Tepig? Even from the insides of a Pokeball, I can hear her voice, pleading to be let out." said N.

White gritted her teeth at him. "You're making that up!" she shouted.

"You think so? That means you're not listening to her voice, and not listening to the voice of your Pokemon is a sin." replied N, calmly.

White looked to the side, avoiding trying to avoid looking at N. "Fine! Tepig, shut him up already!" she said, sending out Tepig.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" N asked, but White completely ignored him. "Now then, Tepig, would you mind telling me what you think of White?" asked N.

"Tepig, don't listen to him! Use Flame Charge!" cried White.

Instead of doing as White commanded, Tepig took a few steps closer to N.

"You said that you love White, and I can tell that that's true, but do you really enjoy being caged up in a Pokeball, like a wild animal? Do you think other Pokemon enjoy this?" he asked.

"Tepig, don't listen to him, he's trying to manipulate your heart!" cried White.

Tepig turned around, looking at White, then turned back to N, and took a few steps closer.

"I can also sense that you enjoy battling, and you'd like to evolve into a powerful Emboar some day. But, does White let you evolve? Have you noticed that Cheren and Bianca's starter Pokemon have evolved, but you haven't?" asked N.

Tepig then turned around again, facing White, and glared at her. White just stood there, staring at the ground, speechless. Tepig glared at her for a few moments, then turned around, and jumped into N's arms.

"_Amazing...my Lord can save Pokemon from foolish people simply by talking to them! He doesn't even need to use force._" thought Mei, amazed at N.

N picked Tepig up, and slowly walked over to White, who looked up at him, with tears in her eyes.

"Tepig, return!" she cried, pointing Tepig's Pokeball at her.

Instead of being returned to her Pokeball, Tepig blew sparks of flames at the Pokeball, burning it to a crisp. White then began crying, completely heart broke. N gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

"White, in order to create the future that I desire... I'll defeat the Pokemon Champion, and become unbeatable, unlike any other, and then I'll make all trainers free their Pokemon! If you desire for Pokemon and people to live together happily, you'll have to beat me at the Pokemon League, however, if your conviction is not strong enough, you'll never be able to defeat me! So just...just try and stop me!" he said.

White just stood, her face covered in tears.

"You're hurt because Tepig left you to join me, but it is no one's fault but yours that she left you. You were completely oblivious to her best wishes, so she joined me, because I can understand what she wants, while you ignore her voice. Like I said before, not listening to the voice of your Pokemon is a sin, and you must atone for your sins." said N.

N then began walking away, taking Mei with him, and as he did, White passed out, unable to take the fact that Tepig left her, to join the enemy. Noticing this, Servine stopped following N, and slithered over to White. N stopped, and turned around, staring at Servine, puzzled.

"Servine...?" N asked.

Servine hissed at him, and remained by White's side. N nodded at him, then continued walking away.

"_So Servine's had a change of heart as well. Does this mean that I've been ignoring his voice? Do I have sins to atone for as well? Why...why can I see a possible second solution to what I thought was an equation with only one answer?_" he thought to himself, as he continued walking away, headed back to his room in the Pokemon Center.

_To be continued..._


	28. Chapter 28: Nimbasa pt 6

After N defeated White, her Tepig had decided to join N, causing White to pass out, unable to bear the fact that Tepig left her to join the enemy. When Servine saw this, he left N, and went with White. N and Mei then went to N's rented room in the Pokemon Center, where N seated her on his bed, and tended to the bruises on her face.

"I'm sorry, I should have stopped White before she could hurt you." he said.

"I-it's alright, my Lord, I-" started Mei, but N interrupted her.

"No, it's not alright, I'm supposed to be your King. You and the other Team Plasma members serve me, so I should have been quicker to protect you." he said.

N then continued tending to her bruises in silence, causing her to blush each time she felt him touch her face. When he was done, the door suddenly opened, and Anthea and Concordia, with their Pokemon, both came in. N noticed that Kirlia and Gothorita had evolved into Gardevoir and Gothitele.

"Hey, N! We both finally got the badge!" exclaimed Anthea, waving her badge case around. "Oh?" she asked, noticing Mei.

"I can see you clearly didn't stay put like I asked, N." said Concordia, closing the door behind her.

"Princess Anthea and Concordia!" said Mei, jolting up, and bowing to them.

"N, what's going on? Did something happen?" asked Concordia.

"White attacked her, so I brought her here, and tended to her bruises." summarized N, sitting on his bed.

Concordia frowned at him and crossed her arms. "So you disobeyed me, and wandered about the city anyway." she said with disappointment.

"And because of that, I saved Mei! Who knows what would have happened to her if I wasn't there?" said N, standing up, slamming his fist down on a dresser.

"_My Lord really cares...he doesn't see me as just a servant!_" thought Mei.

"He does have a point, Concordia." said Anthea.

"It doesn't matter, his point is not the point!" exclaimed Concordia. "And N, I can tell there's something you aren't telling me." she said.

Before anyone could say anything else, there's was a sudden pounding on the door.

"I-I'll get it, I should be leaving now anyway." said Mei.

When she opened the door, Cheren, clearly pissed off, pushed her against the wall, and ran towards N, with his fist balled, but before he could reach him, Anthea and Concordia quickly held him down.

"You sick bastard! How dare you hurt White!" he shouted, trying to break free from Anthea and Concordia.

"What are you talking about? I didn't do a thing to her." said N, taking a few steps to closer to him.

"Don't give me your lies! I found her lying on the ground, and when I asked her what happened, all she could mutter was your name!" shouted Cheren.

Cheren then managed to break free from Anthea and Concordia, then tried to swing his fist at N's face, but Anthea quickly caught his arm, then held both of his arms behind his back, and before he could break free again, Concordia kicked him in the stomach, knocking out his wind, causing him to fall to his knees, with Anthea still holding him in place.

"Who do you think you are, coming here unannounced, and trying to attack my brother?" asked Concordia.

"Who does he think he is to put his hands on White?!" shouted Cheren.

Concordia kicked Cheren in his gut again, causing him to fall face first into the floor, quickly put back on his knees and held down again by Anthea.

"Let me handle him." said N.

N then walked over to Cheren, only a few inches away from him, then sat on his knees.

"Don't worry, you're friend isn't physically hurt, but, mentally hurt? That's a different story." said N, in a low, gentle voice.

"You bastard! What the hell did you do?!" asked Cheren.

"Like I said before, I didn't do anything to her. Why don't you go back and ask her just what happened?" suggested N.

Cheren, still highly pissed off, spit in N's face, as that's all he could do, with Anthea holding his arms behind his back. Concordia then kicked him on the side of his head, causing him to fall to his side, knocked out.

"Get him out of my sight!" shouted N, wiping his face off.

Mei, who was still in the room, then walked over, and began dragging Cheren away.

"N...what in the name of Arceus is going on?" asked Concordia.

"Stop asking me questions! I'm your King, I don't have to do as you say!" shouted N, flopping down on his bed, pulling away at his hair.

"_What on Earth has befallen him? He's never used the fact that he's the King to get his way before, and his extreme mood swings seem to be getting worse._" thought Concordia.

Anthea then sat on N's bed, next to him, and started gently rubbing his back, trying to soothe him.

"It's alright, N, you'll talk when you feel like it." she said.

Just then, N's xtranceiver began ringing, which agitated N even more.

"Am I going to get no freaking peace today?!" he shouted, as he sat up, and answered his xtranceiver. "What?!" he shouted into it, not even waiting to see who it was, or what they wanted.

"What did you just say to me?" replied Ghetsis, in a cold, dark voice.

Anthea and Concordia both gasped when they heard their fathers voice coming from the xtranceiver.

"What do you mean what did I just say? I said 'what!', now what do you want?!" shouted N.

Concordia, who had a frightened look on her face, snatched the xtranceiver from N, and glared at him, then took over talking to Ghetsis for him.

"I'm sorry f-father...he's in an emotional state right now." she said, with fear clear in her voice.

"Damn that boy, what did he do this time? There are rumors of him being the leader of Team Plasma, running all through the city!" said Ghetsis.

"I'm not sure, I've tried to get him to tell me, but he...he won't talk." replied Concordia.

"You're not sure? Are you saying that you weren't with him?" asked Ghetsis.

"I'm sorry, father! I told him to stay in the room we rented in the Pokemon Center, while we challenged the gym, but he disobeyed!" said Concordia, tears suddenly in her eyes.

"I see...Never mind, I'll be there shortly, then." replied Ghetsis, in a cold voice, then hung up.

Concordia dropped N's xtranceiver on his bed, then grabbed his face, pulling him in close to her.

"What on Earth has befallen you, N?! Now you've gone and got us all in trouble!" she exclaimed.

N pushed her hands off of him, then looked from her to Anthea, noticing that Anthea was now softly crying.

"Why are you two so worried about him? He can't do anything to you, I'm the King, so whatever I say goes." he said.

Before Concordia or Anthea could reply, their door swung open, and Ghetsis, frowning, walked in. Concordia and Anthea both stared at the floor, as Ghetsis approached N, glaring at him, with disapproval.

"What have you done, my boy? The entire city now knows that you're the King! Did I not tell you to not reveal your identity until I said so?" he asked.

N stood up. "You all want to know what the heck happened? Fine!" shouted N. "White was attacking Mei, and Mei cried out to me, calling me 'My Lord', so I had no choice but to help her! White didn't know what was going on, so I told her that I'm the King of Team Plasma. How the whole city knows? I don't know! Maybe some bystanders overheard me and started telling everybody!" explained N.

"Who in the name of Arceus is White?" asked Ghetsis, not seeming to get it, at all.

"White is my...she's my...my friend." said N, holding tightly onto his necklace.

Ghetsis silently glared at him for a few moments, then turned his gaze to Concordia, and walked over to her, grabbing her hand.

"You, come with me. I think we need to have a little private talk." he said, in his cold, dark voice.

Concordia, trying to hide her tears, slowly began following him out of the room, knowing N had got her in huge trouble. Before they could make it out the door, N suddenly ran in front of it, blocking their path, then pushed Ghetsis away, standing in front of Concordia. Concordia blinked at him, surprised, and Ghetsis looked at N as if he was crazy.

"What do you think you're doing, N?" he asked.

"A better question is what you call yourself doing. You hurt her, and I'll make sure that you're fired!" shouted N.

Concordia and Anthea both stared at N, with their jaws dropped, completely surprised to hear him standing up to their father like this.

"You can't do that, you fool." said Ghetsis, gritting his teeth.

"Says who? I am the King! You're just a Sage, so you serve me! You need to learn your place!" shouted N.

"_You're just going to make things worse, N..._" thought Concordia.

Ghetsis, knowing N had just made a complete fool of him, walked out of their room, slamming the door behind him. Concordia, knowing N had just saved her from a beating, embraced him in a tight hug, not knowing what to say.

"N, you...you've...grown." she said, trying to not let him see that she was crying.

After that, they decided that they should stay in Nimbasa for one more day, then head to Driftveil tomorrow, so after several more hours, they went to sleep in silence.

_Anthea and Concordia, who seemed to be around the ages of 15 and 16 at the time, had entered N's room, where N, with Zorua on his shoulder, was repeatedly throwing darts on a dartboard that was recently added to his room. He was landing most of the darts straight on the bullseye. Anthea gently tapped his shoulder, trying to get his attention, and he swiftly spun around, and the dart in her direction, but she ducked under it._

"_Yikes! Watch where you throw those things, N!" she shouted._

_N then noticed that they were both wearing bracelet's on their wrists, and that Concordia was holding a small box. Anthea's bracelet's looked like black bands, with gray stripes, and Concordia's were composed of three, golden square parts, all connected._

"_What are those? And what's in that box?" he asked._

"_They're bracelet's! Father found them last night." said Anthea._

"_Father said they belonged to mother, so he gave them to us, so we could have something to remember her by. There's stuff in the box for you." explained Concordia, handing him the box._

_N was extremely happy to have something to remember his mother by, as he had never actually got to meet her, because she had died from a heart disease, shortly after N was born. That's what Ghetsis told them had happened._

_N opened the box, and inside was two bracelet's, one just like the ones Concordia was wearing, and the other just like the ones Anthea was wearing. There also also a necklace, with a black sphere, that had a blue and a yellow spiral on the top and bottom attached, and a yellow, cube-shaped object,which was attached to a chain._

"_I'll help you put them on." said Concordia, figuring that N most likely had no idea how to put them on._

_She put the bracelet's on his wrists, the necklace around his neck, and attached the cube, by it's chain, to his pants. _

"_I wish mother was still with us." said N, with tears in his eyes, as he picked up another dart, and threw it right in the bullseye._

"_I do too..." said Anthea, hugging N from behind, with a sad look on her face._

"_We all do, but...everybody has to die one day, and we can't change that." said Concordia, who also had a sad look on her face. "Father told us that her one wish before she did was that you grow up to be a great hero, who will change the world." she said._

_N held his necklace tightly in his hand, with his eyes closed. _

"_Mother, you may not be here with me, but I swear that I will make your wish come true. I'll be the greatest hero that ever lived, for you, mother." he said, looking up at the ceiling, as if he was hoping his voice would reach the heavens._

N then woke up, and looked around the room. It was still dark outside, and his sisters, and all the Pokemon, were still asleep. He then grasped his necklace tightly, and closed his eyes.

"That's right, mother, I won't let your wish go in vain. Becoming the hero is my destiny, and I will make sure I'm the greatest hero who ever lived, for you. Nothing, and no one can stand in my way." he whispered, then went back to sleep.


	29. Chapter 29: Junior Cup pt 1

_N, who seemed to be about the age of 7 at the time, was sitting in his room, reading one of the many books that Concordia had left in there for him, with an emotionless expression on his face. Just then, Anthea and Concordia, who seemed to be about the ages of 8 and 9 at the time, both entered his room._

"_Good morning, N, how are you today?" asked Anthea._

_N, not responding, kept his gaze on the book, apparently not noticing his sisters._

"_Are you alright, N? Do you need something?" asked Concordia._

_N then looked up at them. "Connie...why don't I have friends?" he asked._

_Concordia then sat down next to him, and looked into the book he was reading, noticing that she had gave him a book about friends, and sighed._

"_Because...Father thinks it's best for you." she said._

"_Why does he think that? Isn't it normal for someone my age to have friends?" asked N._

"_N, please stop asking so many questions. It's what father believes, and he knows what's best for us." said Concordia, massaging her temples._

"_I'm sure mother would disagree, if she were here." said N, causing both of his sisters to flinch. "I want, no...I need a friend." he said._

"_N, how do you expect us to get you a friend?" asked Concordia, as she stood up._

"_Don't worry, N, we'll see what we can do!" exclaimed Anthea, as she grabbed Concordia's hand, dragging her out of N's room._

"_Hey! What are doing?" protested Concordia, as Anthea closed N's door behind them._

_The next day, Ghetsis came into N's room, carrying a badly beat up Zorua in his arms, which looked very frightened. When N saw it, his eyes widened._

"_So I've heard you need a friend." said Ghetsis in a soft, cold voice, as he handed Zorua to N._

"_What...what happened to it, father?" asked N, cradling Zorua in his arms._

"_Yesterday I found this Zorua out in the wild, being cruelly abused by it's owner, so I...rescued it, and decided it would be the perfect friend for you." explained Ghetsis._

_N's eyes began to water, as he hugged Zorua tightly. "Why...why do humans do such awful things to Pokemon?" he asked, through many sobs._

_Ghetsis sighed. "That's just the way the world is, N. Humans all around the world brutally abuse Pokemon, like this Zorua, and treat them as their slaves. I wish humans and Pokemon could live together in peace, but changing the way everyone thinks is simply impossible, so the only hope is to liberate all Pokemon." he said, then walked out of N's room._

_When Ghetsis was gone, Zorua looked up at N, still looking slightly frightened._

"_Something about you seems different than other humans..." whispered Zorua._

"_It's alright, you're safe here." replied N, still cradling Zorua._

_Zorua blinked in surprise. "You...you can understand me? You're no ordinary human." he said._

"_Oh? Do other humans not listen to your voice?" asked N, thinking that it was natural to be able to speak to Pokemon._

_Zorua then hopped out of N's arms, and began looking around the room. "This room, I was told you're not allowed out of it...don't you feel enslaved in here?" he asked._

_N tilted his head, staring at Zorua, slightly confused. "Huh, enslaved...?" he asked._

"_You're locked up in here, just like Pokemon are locked up in Pokeballs. I bet that's why you can understand me, because you're treated just the same as we Pokemon are." said Zorua._

_Zorua then suddenly hopped back into N's arms, and began crying._

"_Hey, what's wrong?" N asked, hugging him tightly, then suddenly felt a connection between his heart and Zorua's. "I see...you're thinking about me." he said, in a low voice._

_N then thought about the other day, when he told Concordia that he needs a friend, then looked at Zorua. "Zorua...do you think that you and I could...could be friends?" he asked, crying._

N then woke up, still in his room, in the Pokemon Center. He looked around, and noticed that the sun had was now up, and that his sisters were nowhere in sight, but the Pokemon were still there, sleeping.

"_Do I have friends? I have Anthea and Concordia, but they are family, so they can't be my friends. I have Team Plasma, but they look up to me as their King, not a friend, and I'm sure White doesn't think of me as a friend, after what happened yesterday. I don't even have a mother..._" he thought to himself, holding his necklace tightly. "_All I have is father, and my sisters..._"

N then looked at his sleeping Pokemon, and smiled. "_No, I'm wrong...mother may not be with me, but I still have her in my heart. I may not have human friends, but...but that's okay, humans hurt innocent Pokemon, and...Pokemon are my true friends. They are the only friends I need._" he thought.

The door then opened, and Anthea and Concordia both came back in.

"Good morning, N, we've had a change in plans." said Anthea, sitting on his bed, and kissing his forehead.

"A change in plans...?" asked N, confused.

"The Pokemon Champion is hosting a tournament for people with at least four badges, who plan on being in the Pokemon League!" she exclaimed.

"I already signed the three of us up, since I'm pretty sure you'd agree with Anthea on us competing in it." said Concordia.

"The Pokemon Champion? This is a great opportunity then; the Pokemon Champion is the biggest example of people who use Pokemon for their own personal benefit. We can't pass up an opportunity like this. What time does the tournament start?" he asked.

"Just two hours from now, so we need to wake up the Pokemon now, eat breakfast, then get going, it's best that we show up early.

So they then woke up their Pokemon, ate breakfast, then quickly left the Pokemon Center, on their way to the tournament.

"Where is this tournament being held, anyway?" asked N, as he followed his sisters.

"The Big Stadium, right over there." said Anthea, pointing to a huge building.

"The Big Stadium is usually used for sports, but the Champion borrowed it, for this tournament." explained Concordia.

"I'm guessing that White is going to be participating in this tournament..." said N.

"Is that a bad thing?" asked Anthea.

"No; in fact, it's a good thing, as Servine went with her, and I'd like to understand why." replied N.

"Do you think she's going to be mad at you?" asked Concordia.

N thought for a few moments. "Maybe, although that isn't important. I'm hoping she started listening to the voices of her Pokemon." he said, twirling his necklace.

When they arrived at the Big Stadium, and were about go inside, Angie, Brad, and Mei suddenly came running over to them, carrying N's crown, and a long, red cloak.

"My Lord, please wait!" they all said at once.

"What's going on...?" N asked.

"Master Ghetsis requested that you wear your crown and cloak to the tournament." said Brad.

"Everybody now knows that you're our King, so Master Ghetsis decided that you should present yourself as a King." explained Angie.

"_How did Father know that we were going to compete in this tournament?_" thought N, as he took off his hat, so that he could wear his crown.

"My Lord, please l-let my help you with that." said Mei.

Mei then took N's hat, and he sat on one knee, so that she could gently place his crown on his head, and put his cloak over his shoulders.

"Thank you, I'll be sure to win, in the name of Team Plasma." N said, taking his hat back, and playfully putting it on Victini's head, backwards.

The three Grunts saluted N, as he and his sisters then entered the Big Stadium. Inside, they could see the competitors, most notably were White, Bianca, and Cheren. White was staring at the floor, with an expressionless, and Cheren, with a bruised face, was leaning against the wall, with his hands in his pocket, and an angry look on his face.

N was about to walk over to White, and try to talk to her, but the door then swung open, and in came a boy with light skin, brown hair and eyes, and wearing a sky-blue hoodie, black pants, red shoes, a red cap, with a Pokeball emblem in the center, and blue bag draped over his shoulder.

"Hey everybody! I'm gonna become the Champion of the Pokemon League! I'm gonna win the Pokemon League! Then I'm gonna defeat the Elite 4, and the Champion! Just wait and see!" he shouted, in a very loud voice, managing to catch everybody's attention.

"He's so loud!" cried Anthea, covering her ears.

"I wish he'd just shut up already." said Concordia.

"Is the Pokemon League going to be full of people like him?" whispered N.

"That's right everybody! You're looking at the face of your future Pokemon Champion! So-" continued the obnoxious boy.

Before he could finish what he had to say, the door opened again, and in came Marie, who slapped him in the back of his head, causing him to bite his tongue, momentarily shutting him up. This caused everybody to laugh, other than N and his sisters, who were glaring at Marie.

"_You got to be kidding me! She's in the tournament too?_" thought N.

Marie then walked over to N, smiling. "Hello N, it's been a while, hasn't it?" she asked.

"You! What are you doing here?!" asked N.

"What do you mean? This was a free country the last time I checked." she said, smiling.

Before anyone could say anything else, Black grabbed Marie's arm, and spun her around, so that she was facing him.

"Hey! Just who do you think you are? You should be showing some respect for your future Champion!" he shouted.

"And who exactly are you?" asked Marie.

"Me? I'm Black! Now who do you t-" said Black.

Before he could continue talking, Marie slapped him on the back of his head, making him bite his tongue again, and momentarily shutting him up. She then turned back to N.

"What's with the funny get-up?" she asked, giggling.

"Funny? You call royalty 'funny'?" asked N, who looked annoyed.

"Apparently so." replied Marie, still giggling. "Remember our special night together, N? That was so much fun." she said.

Anthea had a look of disgust on her face, and Concordia looked as if she was ready to murder someone, right here, right now.

"N, what is she talking about?" she asked.

N stared at the floor, twirling his necklace, and saying nothing.

"Oh? You didn't tell them, N? Naughty boy. I guess I'll tell them for you. He snuck out one night, and got Victini. We spent the whole night together." said Marie, with a big grin on her face.

"You shut your mouth!" shouted N.

Ignoring him, Marie continued. "First, we had a Pokemon battle, and he seemed to get really excited, so he tried to hug me. He was a little rough at first." she said, still grinning.

Everybody's attention was now on N, his sisters, and Marie.

"What the bloody hell...?" said Cheren.

"Does that mean she's N's girlfriend?" asked Bianca.

"I guess his whole 'pure, innocent, sheltered child' act was a load of crap too." spatted White.

Anthea and Concordia both had shocked, disgusted looks on their faces, and they were both blushing.

"N...is that true?" asked Anthea.

"Of course not! She's making that up!" shouted N, who was getting really annoyed now.

"If I'm making it up, why were you gone all night, just to get one Pokemon?" asked Marie.

Concordia then stepped in front of N. "I suggest you stay far away from my little brother from now on, or there WILL be trouble." she said, in an intimidating voice.

Black, annoyed that the attention was no longer on him, stood on a table, which was in the middle of the room, and started back shouting.

"Like I was saying before! I'm going to be your new Pokemon Champion! So just watch me beat all of you in this little tournament!" he shouted.

While still looking up at Concordia, who towered over her, Marie kicked the table Black was standing on, knocking it down, causing him to fall on the floor, which caused more laughter.

"Ouch! Hey, you're lucky you're a girl, or else I'd pound you to dust right now!" he shouted, as he stood up, pointing at her.

"What kind of trouble?" asked Marie, looking up at Concordia, with an innocent look on her face.

"Let's just say I'll make sure you never walk again." replied Concordia.

Grinning, Marie looked behind Concordia, at N. "So, N, have you got any plans tomorrow night? I'll be free the whole night." she said.

Completely fed up, Concordia kicked Marie in the stomach, then grabbed her by her neck, and threw her against a wall. Marie landed on the wall with her feet, and used it to launch herself at Concordia, wrapping her legs around her neck, and used her momentum to launch her at Black, crashing them both into a wall.

"Uh...shouldn't we help her, N?" asked Anthea, who looked worried.

"No, we'll just make her even angrier." replied N.

"Hey, don't involve me in your cat fight!" shouted Black.

Marie then jumped up, doing a front flip towards Concordia, but Concordia quickly got up, and caught her, then slammed her down on the floor, hard. Marie rolled backwards, kicking both of her legs at Concordia's face.

She then flipped forward onto her feet, and launched herself at Concordia, trying to knee her in the face, but at the same time, the door opened, and a man with fiery red hair, wearing a white poncho, white pants, black sandles, and a necklace made of Pokeballs came in, and blocked Marie's attack.

"Whoa! Save your energy for the tournament, kids!" he said, laughing.

"It's Champion Alder!" exclaimed Black.

N slowly walked over to Alder. "So, you're the stupid Champion who's praised due to an equally stupid Pokemon League?" asked N, putting emphasis on 'stupid'.

"Hey, who do you think you are, talking down to the Champion like that?!" shouted Black.

"Haha, calm down! Maybe he's right; maybe I am stupid." said Alder, who then turned to face N. "But tell me, if you think the Pokemon League is stupid, just why are you here? Aren't you trying to make your way to the Pokemon League, just like everyone else here?" he asked.

"That's right, but I have a different objective, unlike these people, who just want a useless title." replied N, looking around the room.

"Here's an idea; if you win the tournament, I'll battle you, and let you prove just how stupid I am." said Alder.

"I guess you'll soon be realizing that you're the most stupid person in all of Unova." said N, as he walked away.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, let's make sure everybody is here." said Alder, pulling out a sheet of paper, that had all the participants names on it, and began calling everybody's name, as they raised their hands in response.

"Bianca!" he called.

"Here!" she responded, raising her hand.

"Ted!"

"Here."

"Elle!"

"Here."

"Bill!"

"Here."

"Olivia!"

"Here."

"SigFried!"

"Here."

"Fred!"

"Here."

"George!"

"Here."

"Cheren!"

"Here."

"White!"

"Here."

"Marie!"

"Present."

"Anthea!"

"Here."

"Concordia!"

"Here."

"N!"

"Here."

"Linda!"

But there was no response this time.

"Hmm, it seems that we're short of just one competitor. Ah, I suppose I'll just have to disqualify h-" he said.

Before he could finish, the door swung open, and in came a short girl, with long, straight, brown hair, light skin, and wearing fuzzy pink hoodie, and light blue jeans. She had her hands on her knees, breathing heavily.

"Sorry for being late! I got distracted, and completely forgot about the tournament!" she exclaimed.

She then looked up, noticing that every eye in the room was staring at her, which caused her to blush in embarrassment.

"Well, I guess that's everybody! I hope you're already, cause we'll be starting right now! Just wait back here, until I call you and your opponent's name, then you both come out and battle. While someone else is battling, the rest of you can watch the battle on that there TV." said Alder, pointing to a wide-screen TV, which was attached to the wall.

Alder then walked to the main stadium, while the competitors waited for their names to be called.

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the first ever Junior Battle Cup!"

They could hear Alder, taking through a microphone, and a large audience cheering.

"Our first battle will be N vs Cheren, which will take place right away!" shouted Alder.

N and Cheren stared each other in the eye. "Looks like today is my lucky day. I can't wait to give this sick bastard a piece of my mind." said Cheren.

_To be continued..._


	30. Chapter 30: Junior Cup pt 2

N walked to the battlefield, ready to battle Cheren, who was already on the other side of the battlefield. As N walked, the audience began booing loudly, due to the fact that he's Team Plasma's leader, but N simply ignored them. Once he was on the battlefield, the referee stepped forward and began to speak.

"Alright, here are the rules of all battles in this tournament. #1: Each trainer may only use three Pokemon at most. #2: If you switch out a Pokemon, that Pokemon will not be allowed to be sent back out during the battle. #3: The use of any type of items will result in a disqualification. #4: Have fun and give it your all!" said the referee.

"Archeops, you're up." said N, as Archeops then flew in front of him.

"_Damn, Archeops has a type advantage over two of my Pokemon..._" thought Cheren. "Alright, Liepard, go!" he said, sending out his first Pokemon.

"Alright folks, the first battle is finally starting! This is going to be good!" exclaimed Alder, who was acting as the announcer.

"Liepard, start things off with Fake Out!" commanded Cheren.

"Archeops, use-"

Before N could finish, Liepard rushed over to Archeops at such high speed, it looked as if he teleported right behind Archeops's back, and slash him in the neck, using his claws.

"Incredible! Liepard moved so fast, N couldn't even give his Pokemon a command!" exclaimed Alder, as the crowd cheered.

_Meanwhile, backstage..._

The other competitors were all sitting down, watching the battle with great interest; all except White, who was staring at the floor, with an expressionless on her face. Marie then strolled over to her.

"I bet you missed me!" she said, hugging her.

White, took by surprise, blinked, and stared at her, with a startled look on her face. "Why are you moving? The nurse said you shouldn't move for two days." she asked.

"Oh, you know, I'm hard to keep down." replied Marie. "So, how are you enjoying the battle so far?" she asked, when she noticed White wasn't saying anything else.

"Oh, I, uh..." replied White, not knowing what to say, since she wasn't paying any attention to the battle.

_While they talked, back on the battlefield..._

"Archeops, use Sky Attack!" commanded N.

"Liepard, use Sucker Punch!" commanded Cheren.

Archeops tried to fly up high into the air, but Liepard jumped into the air after him, and slashed him on the back of his head, knocking him right out of the air.

"Now Liepard, use Night Slash!"

"Archeops, Head Smash!"

Liepard jumped at Archeops, with his claws extended, but before he could attack, Archeops got back in the air, and slammed his head down on Liepards, which instantly knocked him out.

"Liepard is unable to battle, Archeops wins!" exclaimed the referee.

The crowd started booing loudly, unhappy to see Team Plasma's King in the lead.

"Archeops beat Liepard with just one hit! Looks like Liepard's high speed was no match for the brute power of Archeops!" shouted Alder.

"Say White, who do you want to win this battle?" asked Marie, as they watched the battle.

"What? Cheren's my best friend, it's obvious that I want him to beat the leader of a criminal organization!" exclaimed White.

"Are you sure you don't want to beat him yourself?" asked Marie.

"Well...If Cheren ends up losing to him, then yes, I'll defeat N myself." replied White.

"You seem pretty upset. What's got you so down?" asked Marie.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing important..." replied White.

"It's important to me." said Marie, suddenly hugging her.

_Meanwhile, back on the battlefield..._

"Go, Tranquill!" said Cheren, sending out his second Pokemon.

"It looks like this has turned into an aerial battle!" shouted Alder.

"Archeops, use Acrobatics." commanded N.

"Tranquill, use Detect!" commanded Cheren.

Archeops quickly flew over to Tranquill, and tried to strike him, but Tranquill swiftly flew even higher into the air, dodging it.

"Use Air Slash!" commanded Cheren.

"Archeops, Heat Wave!" commanded N.

Tranquill assaulted Archeops with a blade of wind, but at the same time, Archeops blew his fiery hot breath at Tranquill, nearly setting his feathers on fire.

"A fire breathing bird? You sure don't see those everyday!" exclaimed Alder, laughing.

"Archeops, use Sky Attack!"

"Tranquill, stop him with Quick Attack!"

Archeops began flying higher in the air, but Tranquill moved faster, and tackled Archeops, knocking Archeops down lower in the air, but he managed to quickly regain his balance.

"Archeops, end this with Head Smash."

"Tranquill, dodge it!"

Archeops flew towards Tranquill at high speed, using his head as a battering ram, but Tranquill swiftly flew to the side, dodging the attack.

"Archeops, keep using Head Smash!" commanded N.

"Tranquill, keep dodging, he'll get tired!" commanded Cheren.

Archeops continued ramming his head at Tranquill, while Tranquill kept managing to dodge, until the third time, where Tranquill wasn't fast enough to get out of the way, which let Archeops smash his head on him, sending him crashing down on the floor, unconscious.

"Tranquill is unable to battle, Archeops wins!" exclaimed the referee.

"Amazing! Archeops took two down in a row, but can he make it three?" said Alder.

"_Damn...at this rate, I'm gonna get swept by him...no, I won't let that happen! If I'm gonna lose, I'm gonna go down fighting_!" thought Cheren "Servine, don't let me down!" he said, sending out his final Pokemon.

"Archeops, use Acrobatics." commanded N.

"Servine, use Leaf Tornado!" commanded Cheren.

Archeops began slowly flying towards Servine, due to being tired, but Servine created a tornado made out of leaves, and threw it at Archeops, knocking him against the wall, defeated.

"Archeops is unable to battle, Servine wins!" exclaimed the referee.

As N carried Archeops off of the battlefield, the crowd began cheering, happy to see that one of Team Plasma's King's Pokemon was defeated.

"Looks like Cheren's got some momentum going! But can he keep it up? He's still outnumbered." said Alder.

"You'd like to finish this off, wouldn't you?" N asked, picking up Tepig.

Tepig smiled and nodded, so N sat her down on the battlefield, so that she could battle Servine.

"Damn, N...I want to kick his ass!" said White, balling her fists, as she watched the battle.

"I'm sure you'll get your chance." said Marie, still hugging her.

White looked surprise. "But...isn't N your boyfriend? Shouldn't you be supporting him?" asked White, confused.

"He isn't actually my boyfriend, I was just trying to piss off his sisters. Don't tell anyone though." replied Marie, whispering into White's ear.

"_He's making me battle White's Tepig...is he trying to play with my head? That won't work on me_!" thought Cheren. "Servine, use Leaf Tornado!"

"Tepig, burn it with Ember!" commanded N.

Servine sent a tornado made of leaves spiraling towards Tepig, but Tepig blew sparks of fire at it, burning the leaves, and stopping the tornado.

"Servine, use Wrap!"

"Tepig, Flame Charge!"

Servine slithered over to Tepig, attempting to wrap his long body around her, but Tepig charged at him, with her whole body engulfed in flames, knocking Servine several feet back.

"Tepig, again, Flame Charge!"

"Servine, Leaf Tornado!"

Servine sent another tornado of leaves spiraling towards Tepig, but Tepig, with her body engulfed in flames, charged at him again, moving even master this time, and ran right through the tornado, burning it to crisps, then slammed her body against Servine's, sending him crashing through a wall, defeated.

"Servine is unable to battle, and all three of Cheren's Pokemon are unable to battle! The winner is N!" exclaimed the referee, as Cheren, who looked pissed off, returned Servine to his Pokeball, and went backstage.

As N put Tepig on his shoulder, congratulating her on her victory, the crowd was still loudly booing him.

"Looks like N is the first to advance to round two! The next match will begin shortly." said Alder.

N then went backstage, and sat down next to his sisters, but before either of them could say anything, Alder began talking again.

"Attention everyone! It's time for the second battle to begin! This battle will be Anthea vs Ted!" he shouted.

"Good luck." said both N and Concordia, hugging their sister, before she went to start her battle.

"Thanks, but we all know I'm going to win this battle, no problem." said Anthea, as she then went out to start her battle.

_To be continued..._


	31. Chapter 31: Junior Cup pt 3

After a couple of hours, most of the round one matches had been completed, and there was just one more left.

"Alright, the final match for round one will be Marie vs Bianca! After this, we'll advance to round two!" shouted Alder.

"I'm against her? Oh, but she took down Team Plasma on her own, I don't think I can beat her..." said Bianca, who looked startled.

Cheren placed his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, just give it your all. Worrying will only lower your chances." he said.

"Yeah, you'll be fine. Just go out there and have fun." said White.

"Thanks guys! I sure hope you're right..." she said, as she walked out to the battlefield.

"Feel free to cheer for me out loud, N." said Marie.

N and his sisters stared at her as if she were crazy, as she entered the stadium, taking slow, steady steps, and singing slowly.

"_Awaiting the sign_

_Waiting for turmoil_

_A different design_

_those of the gargoyles_"

The crowd cheered, as she sang, then twirled around a couple of times.

"_Awaiting the turmoil_

_Awaiting the turmoil_"

She winked at Bianca, as she walked onto the battlefield.

"_Watching my time_

_Turn to misfortune_

_I'm standing in line_

_For eternal torture_"

She then stepped into place, and twirled, sliding Pokeballs out of her sleeves, and into her hands.

"_Awaiting the turmoil_

_Awaiting the turmoil_"

She licked her lips, as she looked over her Pokeballs.

"_Now the madness begins_

_and they'll all hear me shout_

_But they wont let me in_

_and they wont let me out_"

She smiled and winked again, ready to begin the battle.

"Well, that was certainly a spectacular entrance! Very original!" said Alder.

"Just focus on having fun, and connecting with your Pokemon. "Go, Raichu." said Marie, sending out her Pokemon.

Raichu was an orange, mouse-like Pokemon, with black stripes, pointy ears, and a long, silver tail, with a thunderbolt at the end.

"R-Right! Go, Herdier!" replied Bianca, sending out her Pokemon.

_Backstage..._

"Like she knows a thing about connecting with Pokemon!" spat N.

"She mocked you, N! How dare she mock you!" exclaimed Anthea.

"This little...! I think it's about time I put her in her place." said Concordia, balling her fists.

_Back on the battlefield..._

"Herdier, use Take Down!" commanded Bianca.

"Raichu, use Extremespeed, please." commanded Marie.

Herdier charged at Raichu, but Raichu, with amazing speed, jumped right over him, then rammed her body into his.

"Herdier, use Crunch!"

"Raichu, use Protect, please."

Herdier tried to bite Raichu, but Raichu created an invisible barrier, which protected her, leaving Herdier off balance.

"Now Raichu, use Brick Break, please."

"Herdier, use Take Down!"

While Herdier was still off balance, Raichu used her tail to chop down on Herdier's head, knocking her out.

"Herdier is unable to battle, Raichu wins!" exclaimed the referee.

"Go, Munna!" said Bianca, returning Herdier, and sending out her next Pokemon.

"Raichu, Extremespeed, please." commanded Marie.

As soon as Munna came out of her Pokeball, before she knew what was going on, Raichu had already slammed against her, knocking her against the wall.

"Munna! Are you okay?" said Bianca, as Munna slowly got back up.

"Amazing! Raichu moves just like the wind!" shouted Alder.

"Munna, use Psybeam!"

"Raichu, Volt Tackle, please."

Munna shot a psychic beam at Raichu, but Raichu jumped to the side, then, with her body cloaked in electricity, charged at Munna, crashing into her, and knocking her out.

"Munna is unable to battle, Raichu wins!" exclaimed the referee.

"Munna, return. Go, Dewott!" said Bianca, sending out her final Pokemon.

"It's three versus one now, and Dewott is at a type disadvantage. Can Bianca somehow pull a miraculous victory, or will she be completely swept by Raichu?" said Alder.

"Dewott, use Water Pulse!"

"Raichu, protect, please."

Dewott attacked Raichu with a pulse of water, but Raichu protected herself with an invisible barrier.

"Now Dewott, use Encore!"

Dewott began clapping, and bouncing up and down, shooting a transparent, blue glow at Raichu, which caused her to start repeatedly using Protect.

"Dewott, now, keep using Razor Shell!"

Dewott began repeatedly assaulting Raichu with a blade of water, but Raichu kept protecting herself with invisible barriers, until, finally, she failed, and was hit on the neck by Dewott's attack, knocking her to the floor.

"Raichu, use Volt Tackle, please."

"Dewott, Water Pulse!"

Dewott attacked Raichu with a pulse of water, but Raichu, with her body cloaked in electricity, ran right through it, colliding her body against Dewott's, and knocking Dewott out.

"Dewott is unable to battle, Marie wins the battle!" exclaimed the referee, as the crowd cheered.

"And Marie wins in a complete sweep! That's one impressive Raichu!" shouted Alder.

"I really lost that easy...?" said Bianca, returning her Pokemon.

Marie twirled around, sliding a Pokeball out of her sleeve, and returned Raichu to her Pokeball. She then ran a few steps, and dropped to the floor, sliding towards Bianca, and once she was about two feet away, jumped up, giving Bianca a hug.

"Good game." she said, smiling.

Bianca blinked in surprise. "Uh...right! You too." she said.

_Backstage..._

N and his sisters all looked disappointed in how the battle ended.

"I sure hope she loses to someone else, without getting put against one of us..." said Anthea.

"What? But we have to beat her to get my skateboard back!" exclaimed N.

"You two don't need to worry. If I get put against her, I'll kick the sh-...I mean, I'll beat her for sure, and I'll get your skateboard back, N." said Concordia, holding N's hand tightly.

Marie and Bianca both then returned backstage, and as soon as Bianca saw White and Cheren, she ran over to them.

"Hey, Cheren, looks like you're not the only one who didn't make it to round 2!" she said.

"Yeah...that totally makes me feel better." replied Cheren, hands in his pockets.

"White will win though, I'm sure she will! Right, White?" asked Bianca.

White looked up. "I'll have to beat that damned N though..." she said glancing over at N.

"Attention everyone! All round 1 matches have been completed, and I shall now announce the round 2 participants!" shouted Alder.

"And those who have made it to round two are: Marie, White, N, Olivia, Concordia, Linda, Anthea, and Black! Congratulations to you all! The first match of round 1 will be N vs Anthea, and that will begin in 15 minutes!" exclaimed Alder.

White and Cheren both smirked, clearly pleased that N was going to have to battle his sister.

"Hah!" said White, smiling.

"I hope they beat the crap out of each other." said Cheren.

N and Concordia both looked completely shocked at this, and Anthea stood up, looking worried.

"They put me against N? Why would they do that? That can't be an accident, right?" she said, pacing back and forth.

"Anthea, calm down." said Concordia, as she stood up, and placed her hand on Anthea's shoulder, trying to calm her down.

"We all know there's no way I can beat N, and even if I could, I just wouldn't be able to bring myself to do it. Besides, I only have two Pokemon, so I'm outnumbered before the battle even starts. I should just forfeit right now, right?" said Anthea.

N then stood up, and placed his hand on her other shoulder.

"No, you're not going to forfeit." he said.

"B-but N..." replied Anthea, but was interrupted by N.

"Don't think of it as a tournament, imagine that we're just trying to train the Pokemon." said N.

Anthea and Concordia both looked surprise to hear this. "O-okay N, if that's really how you'd prefer it." said Anthea.

"Archeops, I want you to battle with Anthea, so that it's a fair, three on three battle, okay?" asked N, petting Archeops.

Archeops nodded in agreement, and flew next to Anthea. The moment was suddenly interrupted, as Marie walked over to N.

"Thanks for your silent cheers, N, I'm sure I would've lost if you hadn't been cheering for me." she said, smiling.

Before N could say anything, Concordia stepped in front of him, glaring at Marie.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll turn around, and go crawl back into your hole, right now." she said.

"As I recall, last time you threatened me, I had just thrown you with a head-scissors lock, and was about to knock you out with my knee." said Marie, looking up at her, with a wicked smile.

"As I recall it, I was going to move out of the way, and let you crash right into the the door, but then Alder saved you." replied Concordia.

"Oh yes, you were totally going to move out of the way while dazed." said Marie, with a giggle.

"If you had any brains in that little head of yours, you'd know I wasn't actually dazed." said Concordia.

"A kangaroo kick to the chin would daze even Alder." replied Marie.

"Good job, you're capable of dazing an old man. That only means absolutely nothing." said Concordia, sternly.

Suddenly, Black ran over to them. "Hey! Who do you think you are calling the Champion an old man?!" he asked, in a very loud voice.

"Are you trying to kill my ears?!" asked Anthea, covering her ears.

"I'm sorry but this conversation has nothing to do with you." said Concordia, staring at Black.

"Nothing to do with me? I think you need to realize just who you're talking too! I'm the one who's gonna win this tournament, and I'm the one who's going to win the Pokemon League So you sho-" shouted Black.

Before he could finish what he was going to say, Marie quickly kicked him in his crotch, causing him to drop to his knees, and scream in pain, while almost everyone laughed.

"Why don't you go walk off the pain?" asked Marie, with a smile, as she the then turned to face N.

"See you soon, N." she said with a wink, then threw a metal card at his hat, knocking it off his head, several feet back, as she walked back to her seat.

"I'll pick it up for you, N!" said Anthea.

Anthea then sat on the floor and picked up N's hat, when she then noticed two pictures on the floor next to it.

"_Huh? Why were there pictures in his hat...?_" she thought.

She then picked the pictures up, and started looking over them, a surprised look slowly etching across her face. The first one was a picture of N and Marie, at Liberty Garden, with N sitting against the bark of a tree, with the brim of his hat over his eyes, and Marie sitting in his lap, cuddling with him. The second picture was N lying on the ground, and Marie lying on top of him, with her head on his chest. They seemed to be asleep, as both of their eyes were closed.

Anthea's eye's twitched, she clenched and unclenched her fists, and seemed to be trembling, as she stared at the pictures in disbelief.

"Uh, Anthea...?" asked N, as he started walking over to her.

"W-what? What do you want?!" asked Anthea, quickly putting the pictures in her purse, before N could see them.

"My hat...?" said N.

Anthea then stood up, with a half smile on her face that she was struggling to keep straight, her eyes still twitching, and still clenching her fists, as she walked over to N, and slammed him against the wall.

"Fine! Take your stupid hat back!" she said, angrily putting it on his head, as she walked back to her seat.

"_What's her problem...?_" thought N.

Concordia stared at her, looking both surprised and confused. "Anthea, is something wrong?" she asked, gently touching her sister's arm.

Anthea slapped Concordia's hand away, then looked at her, with an insane look on her face, her eyes still twitching. "Me? I'm perfectly fine! In fact, I'm actually thrilled for my battle with N! What makes you think somethings wrong, big sis?" she asked, getting on her hands and knees, and leaning in close to Concordia.

Concordia backed up, speechless, and actually looked startled by this. N was still standing against the wall, staring at Anthea, with a shocked look on his face.

"_What's gotten into her? This is not the Anthea I know..._" he thought.

Anthea continued leaning in closer and closer to Concordia, until Concordia was pressed against the wall, and their faces were just inches apart, causing almost everyone to stare at them. Before she could say anything, Alder began talking again.

"Alright everybody, it's time for the first match of round two! I'm sure this will be a good one!" he shouted.

N began slowly walking out to the battlefield, as Anthea then jumped up next to him, startling him.

"I hope you bring your very best to this battle, little brother. You're going to need it." she said, with an insane smile on her face.

_To be continued..._


	32. Chapter 32: Junior cup pt 4: N vs Anthea

Anthea was slowly walking over to the battlefield, where N was already in his position, prepared to battle her.

"_What does he like about that Marie girl? What does she have that I don't?_" thought Anthea, as she kept walking very slowly.

"_Maybe...maybe he'll like me more if I can be better at everything she does! She's always singing...maybe I should try that. I've never sang in public before, but it's worth a try_." she thought.

She then stopped moving. "Gothitele, could you please bring me a microphone?" she whispered to Gothitele.

Gothitele then used her psychic power to make a microphone start floating in the air over towards Anthea, which Anthea then picked up, and began singing, as she continued approaching the battlefield, causing the crowd to go completely silent.

"_Tell yourself its over now__  
__Try to kill a broken vow__  
__If only you could find the strength to kill the memories__  
__These empty pages never turn__  
__You lit the flame and let them burn__  
__You tried to bury me so deep what lies beneath"_

She jumped onto the battlefield, staring at N with a smile on her face, which she was struggling to keep straight, causing N to step back, startled. She then lowered her gaze to the floor, and continued singing in a louder voice.

"_WILL your hope die alone?_

_WILL you fade on your own?_

_CAN you just turn away and LET. ME. GO?!_"

She looked back up at N, her eyes twitching, and still struggling to keep her smile on her face, as she continued singing, in an even louder voice.

"_LIE TO ME!_

_IF YOU CAN FEEL _

_THAT THIS LOVE WAS NEVER REAL_

_WALK AWAY_

_IF YOU CAN LEARN TO LOVE AGAIN!_"

N stared at her, looking both startled and confused. "_What the heck is she doing...?_" he thought.

She then stopped singing, as she extended her hand, and as if on cue, Lilligant stepped forth, prepared to battle.

"Well...it looks like singing is becoming quite popular here! And as I know, these two are brother and sister, so this is sure to be interesting! I can just feel the tension between them both!" shouted Alder.

_Backstage..._

Marie was laughing, as if she found this funny, while everybody else was watching, unsure what to think of this.

"_What has gotten into her? I didn't even know she could sing..._" thought Concordia, her chin in her palm.

Cheren was standing next to White, leaning against the wall, with his hands in pockets, watching.

"I must say...she's actually an incredible singer." he said.

White frowned at him. "Why are you complementing the enemy? Don't tell me you've got a crush!" she said.

Cheren slightly blushed. "What? Of course not! Although, she's certainly far from bad looking..." replied Cheren.

_Back on the battlefield..._

"_Why is she starting with Lilligant? She knows two out of three of my Pokemon are Fire-types, giving me a huge advantage..." _thought N. "Tepig, you're up." he said, placing Tepig down on the battlefield.

"Lilligant, use Quiver Dance!" commanded Anthea.

"Tepig, use Flame Charge!" commanded N.

Lilligant began dancing around, as Tepig began charging at her, with her body engulfed in flames. When Tepig was just a foot away from Lilligant, Lilligant dodged to the side, while still dancing, causing forcing Tepig to halt to a stop.

"Tepig, again, Flame Charge!"

"Lilligant, Sleep Powder!"

Tepig started charging at Lilligant again, but was quickly stopped, as Lilligant put her to sleep, with a big scatter of sleep-inducing dust.

"Now Lilligant, Petal Dance!" commanded Anthea.

"Tepig!" cried N.

Lilligant began dancing towards Tepig, as assaulted her with an onslaught of petals, which knocked her off her feet.

"Lilligant, finish this with one more Petal Dance."

"Tepig, get out of there!"

Lilligant assaulted Tepig with another onslaught of petals, which sent her crashing against the wall, and leaving her unable to battle.

"Tepig is unable to battle! Lilligant wins!" exclaimed the referee, as N picked Tepig up.

"_She beat Tepig flawlessly, despite the type disadvantage...her battling skills seem to have drastically improved._" thought N, staring at Anthea.

"Zorua, you're next." he said, as Zorua then hopped off his shoulder and onto the battlefield.

Anthea's eyes suddenly started watering, as she picked her microphone up again, and continued singing.

"_LIE TO ME!_

_IF YOU CAN LEAVE_

_I'LL STILL BE HERE WHEN YOU SEE!_

_YOU'RE NOT ALONE!_

_YOU DON'T HAVE TO RUN AGAIN!_

_DON'T LEAVE ME HERE IN DENIAL!_"

_Backstage..._

Marie giggled, smiling as she looked in White's direction, but White didn't seem to notice, as she was too focused on watching the battle.

"That damn N...he just had to go and use Tepig, and let her get beat by a freaking Grass-type!" exclaimed White.

"_Why did N send out Zorua instead of Victini? He could use Victini's fire power to defeat Lilligant, and save up Zorua to take down Gothitele, since he'd be at a type advantage."_ thought Concordia.

_Back on the battlefield..._

"Zorua, use Fury Swipes!" commanded N.

"Lilligant, Petal Dance!" commanded Anthea.

As Lilligant danced over to Zorua, assaulting with an onslaught of petals, Zoura jumped towards her, slashing away at the petals, tearing them into tiny pieces.

Instead of giving Lilligant another command, Anthea singing again, her face covered in tears.

"_All your secrets lie inside..._

_You keep them safe, you let them hide..._

_You feel them drinking in your pain to kill the memories..._

_So close your eyes and let it burn..._

_The voices inside begins to stir..._

_ARE you reminded of all you used to be..._?

_Can you just turn away and LET. ME. GO?!_"

It sounded as if she was going to sing more, but instead, she gave her Pokemon a command.

"Lilligant, Giga Drain!"

"Zorua, Faint Attack!"

Instead of attacking, Lilligant stood there, apparently dazed, as Zorua leapt towards her, and struck the back of her head, knocking her down to her knees.

"Now Zorua, Fury Swipes!"

"Lilligant, Sleep Powder!"

Lilligant remained dazed, as Zorua began repeatedly slashing away at her back, knocking her off her feet.

"Zorua, go for the finishing blow with Faint Attack!"

"Lilligant, get up and use Petal Dance!"

Lilligant suddenly got back up, and began assaulting Zorua with another onslaught of petals, and at the same time, Zorua struck the back of her head again. Both Pokemon then fell to the ground, defeated.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle!" exclaimed the referee, as they both picked up their Pokemon.

"Amazing, a double knock out! I'm not so sure what the tension between these two is, but it sure makes the battle even more interesting! Maybe we've got a case of sibling rivalry here?" shouted Alder.

Anthea wiped off her tears, and stared N in the eye, giving him a crazy smile, her eyes twitching, and looked as if she was struggling to remain standing up, as she continued singing again.

"_LIE TO ME!_

_IF YOU CAN FEEL THAT THIS LOVE WAS NEVER REAL_

_WALK AWAY_

_IF YOU CAN LEARN TO LOVE AGAIN!_"

N took a few steps back, with a frightened look on his face. "_I've only got one Pokemon left, and she has two..." _he thought. "Victini, you're my last hope." he said, as Victini flew onto the battlefield.

At the same time, Anthea extended her hand forward, and Archeops quickly flew onto the battlefield as well. She then put her hands on her hips, and let out a wicked laugh, and began singing again.

"_LIE TO ME!_

_WATCH ME BLEED_

_CAUSE I'LL STILL BE HERE WHEN YOU SEE_

_THAT YOU'RE NOT ALONE_

_YOU DON'T HAVE TO RUN AWAY AGAIN!_

_AND LEAVE ME HERE IN DENIAL!_"

N took a few steps forward. "Anthea, I have no idea what has gotten into you, but I am going to chase the crazy right out of your head!" he said.

Not reacting to this, Anthea began to command Archeops.

"Archeops, Acrobatics!"

"Victini, Bolt Strike!"

Archeops began swiftly flying around Victini, leaving Victini spinning in circles, as he tried to catch Archeops, then once Victini thought he had Archeops locked in, he slammed down at him, with his body surrounded by an intense amount of electricity, but Archeops swiftly flew out of the way, leaving Victini crashing into the ground. Once Victini was out of the air, Archeops swooped down, and slashed him with his claws, then flew back in the air.

"Archeops, Head Smash!" commanded Anthea.

"Victini, V-Create!" commanded N.

Archeops flew down towards Victini at full speed, slamming his head down on Victini, but Victini quickly got up, and counter-attacked by hurling himself at Archeops, with a hot flame in the shape of a V on his head. Both Pokemon collided into each other at the same, sending them both crashing into walls.

Anthea stared at N again, tears rolling down her cheeks, as she continued singing again.

"_All the pain you fed..._

_Starts to grow inside..._

_It lives again... AND YOU CAN'T LET IT DIE_

_So you believe you'll never find..._

_A REASON TO LOVE AGAIN!_"

"_Is she singing from her heart? Is this how she's feeling deep down? I...I just don't understand!" _thought N.

"Archeops, Sky Attack!" commanded Anthea.

"Victini, Seering Shot!" commanded N.

Archeops flew up high into the air, but before he could launch his attack, Victini sent a scarlet info on flames, which torched Archeops, setting his wings on fire, causing him to fall out of the air, unable to keep flying.

"Victini, now, Bolt Strike!"

"Archeops, dodge it!"

Victini, with his body surrounded in intense electricity, slammed down on Archeops, knocking him out.

"Archeops is unable to battle, Victini wins!" exclaimed the referee, as Anthea picked Archeops up.

Anthea extended her hand forward again, and Gothitele immediately stepped forward onto the battlefield. Anthea then began singing again, with her arms stretched out to her sides as if she was hoping N would jump into her arms.

"_Lie to me..._

_And watch me bleed..._

_I'll be here when you see..._

_You're not alone..._

_You don't need to run..._"

_Backstage..._

"_Why is Anthea crying so much? Has she caught N's extreme mood swings?_" thought Concordia.

Marie then walked over to White, smiling.

"So, White, what do you think of the battle?" she asked.

"Aside from the fact that I'm happy to see them both destroying each other? Let's see...I will admit, it's a very good, and entertaining battle, much better than I expected. Although, I have no idea what's going on..." replied White.

_Back on the battlefield..._

"Victini, V-Create!" commanded N.

"Gothitele, Shadow Ball!" commanded Anthea.

Victini, with a hot flame in the shape of a V on his head, hurled himself at Gothitele, but while he was approaching, Gothitele through a ball of shadows at him, knocking him out of the air, before he could land his attack.

"Gothitele, again, Shadow Ball."

"Victini, dodge!"

Gothita threw another ball of shadows at Victini, but Victini flew right over it, avoiding any damage.

"Victini, now, Bolt Strike!"

"Gothita, another Shadow Ball!"

Victini flew up higher in the air, his body surrounded in intense electricity, then slammed himself down at Gothitele, who threw another Shadow Ball at Victini, but Victini seemed unharmed, and flattened Gothita into the ground. Victini then collapsed on the ground next to Gothita, and after moments of struggling, both Pokemon got back up, and Victini flew several feet back.

Anthea looked up at N, smiling wickedly, but struggling to keep her smile straight, as her eyes twitched, and her knees buckled, then began singing again.

"_LIE TO ME!_

_WATCH ME BLEED!_

_CAUSE I'LL STILL BE HERE WHEN YOU SEE!_

_YOU'RE NOT ALONE!_

_YOU DON'T NEED TO RUN AWAY AGAIN..._

_AND LEAVE ME HERE IN DENIAL...!"_

"Victini, Blue Flare!" commanded N.

"Gothitele, stop it with all the Shadow Balls you have to offer!" commanded Anthea.

Victini sent an intense, yet beautiful blue flame firing towards Gothitele, but Gothitele began throwing a dozen Shadow Balls at it, which was enough to put out the flame, before it could touch her.

"Victini, again, Blue Flare!"

"Gothitele, Mirror Coat!"

Victini sent the blue flame firing towards Gothitele again, but this time, Gothitele put up a giant mirror, which, after Gothitele was knocked down from the impact of Victini's attack, sent the flames firing back at Victini, twice as big and fast, setting his whole body on fire, causing him to collapse. After several moments, Victini just barely got up, and raised two fingers in the shape of a V, meaning 'Victory', with a grin on his face, while Gothitele was still on the ground, unconscious.

"Gothitele is unable to battle! N wins!" exclaimed the referee, causing the crowd to start cheering loudly, despite their hate for Team Plasma.

Once N was declared the winner, Victini collapsed again, this time unconscious.

"What an amazing, unpredictable battle! That was certainly, by far, the most entertaining battle so far! Both trainers were pushed to their very limits!" exclaimed Alder.

Anthea dropped to her hands and knees, her eyes watering again, and began slowly crawling over to N, then, when she was inches away, stood up, and began singing again.

"_YOU CAN LEARN TO LOVE AGAIN!_

_DON'T LEAVE ME IN DENIAL!_

_YOU CAN LEARN TO LOVE AGAIN!_

_DON'T LEAVE ME IN DENIAL!_"

She then dropped her microphone on the floor, and wrapped her arms around N, crying into his shoulder. N, not knowing how to react this, hugged her tightly, not saying a word.

_To be continued..._


	33. Chapter 33: Juniour Cup pt 5

N has defeated Anthea, in their battle for the Junior Cup, and has now returned backstage, where he sat down next to Concordia, and Anthea sat next to him, resting her head in his lap, which freaked him out a little, but he continued trying to comfort her. There was an awkward silence for a while, until Alder finally began announcing the next battle.

"Alright everybody, it's time for our second match of round two, and that will be Linda vs Concordia! Let's hope for a good show!" exclaimed Alder.

"Good luck, Concordia." said N, as Concordia stood up.

"I'll get this done quickly." replied Concordia.

Concordia glanced over at her opponent, as she began walking to the battlefield, but Linda seemed to avoid her gaze, and quickly dashed away to the battlefield. Concordia blinked, then shrugged, as she continued walking out to the battlefield. Once they were both on the battlefield, Alder began to speak.

"As we've seen from their battles in round one, Linda uses a lot of Bug type Pokemon, which should give her a great advantage in this battle, since as we can see, Concordia only has Psychic type Pokemon, and a Grass type. Will she be able to win despite the disadvantage?" he said.

"Gardevoir, I'll be starting with you." said Concordia.

"Ninjask, come on out!" said Linda, sending out a small, flying Pokemon, which looked like a cicada, with a black and gold exoskeleton, large, round eyes, sharp claws on short, stubby arms, and transparent wings that seemed to flap a thousand times per second.

"Ninjask, attack with X-Scissor!" commanded Linda.

"Gardevoir, dodge with Teleport!" commanded Concordia.

Ninjask launched himself at Gardevoir, with his claws crossed like a pair of scissors, but Gardevoir dodged by teleporting several feet behind Ninjask.

"Now Gardevoir, use Psychic!"

"Ninjask, dodge!"

Gardevoir stretched her arms out to the side, sending a purple shock-wave towards Ninjask , but Ninjask flew out of the way at such high speed, his movement was impossible to see.

"_Damn, that Pokemon is fast..._" thought Concordia.

"Ninjask, strike with X-Scissor once more!"

"Gardevoir, Teleport, then immediately use Double Team!"

Ninjask launched himself at Gardevoir again, but Gardevoir teleported several feet to the side, then quickly created a dozen copies of herself.

"Hmm, neither Pokemon has been hit yet. Both trainers certainly know how to keep their Pokemon out of harms way, but how long can they keep it up?" exclaimed Alder.

"Ninjask, use Swords Dance while you can't hit her." commanded Linda.

"Gardevoir, now, Psychic!" commanded Concordia.

Ninjask started dancing around, but as he did, Gardevoir took advantage of this opportunity, striking Ninjask with another psychic shock-wave, which knocked hit Ninjask with such huge impact, it sent him rolling backwards, knocking him out of the air.

"Gardevoir, one more Psychic will finish it off!"

"Ninjask, Baton Pass!"

Gardevoir sent another shock-wave towards Ninjask again, but a baton suddenly appeared in Ninjask's hand, and he began glowing white, as he mysteriously returned himself to his Pokeball, and just like that, there was another Pokemon in his place, holding the same baton. This Pokemon resembled a cicada nymph, with a large, red mushroom growing out of it's back, and large white eyes on top of it's head.

"Parasect, use Fury Cutter!" commanded Linda.

"Gardevoir, Psychic!" commanded Concordia.

Parasect rushed over to the fake Gardevoirs, furiously slashing away at them with his claws, but before he could hit the real Gardevoir, she struck him with her psychic power, knocking him onto his back.

"Parasect, Stun Spore!"

"Gardevoir, Magical Leaf!"

Parasect scatted a cloud of paralyzing powder around Gardevoir, and at the same time, Gardevoir threw multiple, sharp leaves towards Parasect, which flew at him like boomerangs, and hit him on the center of his mushroom, knocking him down on his back.

"Parasect, get up!" cried Linda.

Parasect thrashed, rolled, and did everything he could to get back up, but he was stuck on his back, unable to get up.

"Gardevoir, finish him off with Psychic!"

Gardevoir struck Parasect with yet another psychic shock-wave, which sent Parasect rolling several feet back, now unconscious.

"Parasect is unable to battle, Gardevoir wins!" exclaimed the referee, returning her Pokemon to it's Pokeball.

"Shedinja, come out please." said Linda, sending out her next Pokemon.

This pokemon was a tan, floating, seemingly empty cicada shell, with short, nubby arms, wing-like appendages on it's back, and halo above it's head.

"_A Shedinja...those are unaffected by any attacking moves that won't deal super-effective damage on it, and Gardevoir hasn't got anyway of defeating it..._" thought Concordia.

"Shedinja, use Shadow Claw!" commanded Linda.

"Gardevoir, Teleport!" commanded Concordia.

Shedinja floated over to Gardevoir, with it's claws extended, and glowing dark, but Gardevoir teleported several feet away, dodging the attack.

"We've seen all of Gardevoirs moves, and none of them can damage Shedinja, so we know Gardevoir can't win this, but she's still fighting anyway! That's a tenacious spirit I like to see!" exclaimed Alder.

"Shedinja, Shadow Sneak!"

"Gardevoir, Teleport!"

Gardevoir tried to teleport away again, but before she could Shedinja extended it's shadow behind Gardevoir, and then Shedinja seemed to emerge from it's own shadow, putting it behind Gardevoir, where it struck Gardevoir on the back of her head, knocking her out.

"Gardevoir is unable to battle, Shedinja wins!" exclaimed the referee.

"Whismicott, you're next." said Concordia, sending out her final Pokemon.

"Shedinja, use Shadow Ball!"

"Whismicott, Substitute!"

Shedinja hurled a ball of shadows towards Whismicott, but before Shedinja's attack could hit, Whismicott created a fake copy of herself, which took the hit for her.

"Now Whismicott, Leech Seed!"

"Shedinja, Shadow Ball!"

Whismicott planted seeds right under Shedinja, which rooted it to the ground. Shedinja then hurled another ball of shadows at Whismicott' but the substitute took the hit again, although this time, the substitute faded away. Just then, Shedinja's health was absorbed into Whismicott, and Shedinja fell to the ground, defeated.

"Shedinja is unable to battle, Whismicott wins!" exclaimed the referee, while Linda returned Shedinja to it's Pokeball, and sent Ninjask back out.

"Ninjask, X-Scissor!"

"Whismicott, Stun Spore!"

Before Ninjask could even fly towards Whismicott, a paralyzing powder was scattered all over him, making it hard for him to move.

"Whismicott, now, Hurricane."

"Fly out of the way, Ninjask!"

Whismicott sent a large hurricane spiraling towards Ninjask, and due to the Stun Spore, he was unable to fly out of the way, causing him to get caught in it, then after several moments of being spun around inside it, the hurricane spit him out, and evaporated, leaving Ninjask unconscious.

"Ninjask is unable to battle, and Linda has no more Pokemon; Concordia is the winner!" exclaimed the referee.

As soon as the referee declared her as the winner, Concordia quickly went back backstage, not wasting any time.

"Impressive! Despite the major disadvantage, Concordia managed to pull through a win regardless! Great battle indeed!" said Alder.

Linda had a sad look on her face, as she lowered her gaze, and slowly walked backstage, heading towards the exit. When she was opening the door, about to walk out, she felt a hand gently placed on her shoulder, causing her to turn around, where she saw Marie facing her. Marie leaned in close, whispering something into her ear. Linda smiled faintly at her, then strolled out the door.

"All right, it's time for the next match of round two, and that will be Black vs Marie! That battle shall start right now!" announced Alder.

Black jolted up, with a confident smile on his face. "All right, now I'm going to teach you what happens when you pick a fight with me!" he exclaimed, as he ran out to the battlefield.

The lights in the arena suddenly began flashing, and a whisper loud enough for everyone to hear emanated through the building.

"_If you're sick_

_If you're sick_

_If you're sick_

_If you're sick of it..."_

Marie began slowly walking into the arena, continuing singing.

"_If you're sick_

"_If you're sick"_

She then shouted

"_If you're sick of it!_"

She sang more, as she continued walking towards the battlefield. Sparks were shooting from the lights every few seconds.

"_When everything you do_

_Don't seem to matter_

_You try but it's no use_

_Your world is getting 'blacker'_"

She put extra emphasis on "black" and was now on the battlefield.

"_When every time you fail_

_Has no answer_

_Every empty promise made_

_Is a reminder_

_No one can make this better_

_Take control, it's now or never!_"

The lights returned to normal, and she sat down her microphone, and twirled, as she slid a Pokeball out of her sleeve, sending out Raichu.

"All right, go, Musharna!" said Black, sending out his first Pokemon.

"Musharna, use Hypnosis!"

"Raichu, Protect, please."

Musharna sent hypnotic rays towards Raichu, but Raichu protected herself with an invisible barrier.

"Musharna, Psybeam!"

"Raichu, Volt Tackle, please."

Musharna shot a peculiar, psychic ray at Raichu, but Raichu, with her body covered in electricity, charged towards Musharna at high speed, and slammed her body into Musharna's, knocking Musharna against the wall.

"Raichu, Extremespeed, please."

"Musharna, get up!"

Before Musharna could do anything, Raichu jumped towards him at blistering speed, and crashed down on him.

"_If Musharna takes one more hit, he's done for..._" thought Black. "All right then, Musharna, use Reflect!"

"Raichu, Volt Tackle."

As Musharna set up a large wall, Raichu slammed into him once more, the damage lowered thanks to Reflect, but Musharna didn't have enough health left to withstand the attack.

"Musharna is unable to battle, Raichu wins!" exclaimed the referee.

_Backstage..._

N cringed as he watched the battle, knowing that there was a chance he'd be battling Marie soon again. Anthea noticed N's reaction, and wrapped her arm around his shoulders, causing him to flinch.

"Don't worry, little brother, I know deep down you don't want that sick bitch, you deserve someone much better. " she said, then rested her her head on N's shoulder, in the way that N got used to her doing years ago.

Concordia glared at Anthea furiously. "Watch your mouth, you know better than to use language like that!" she said.

Anthea just laughed at this like a maniac. "What are you gonna do about it, 'big sister'?" she asked tauntingly. "Are you going to punish me, like I'm some little girl, 'big sister?" she asked, still laughing.

Concordia blushed, completely embarrassed that she was being taunted like this by her little sister in public.

"If you don't fix that bad attitude of yours, you might soon be feeling like a little girl again!" replied a furious Concordia.

Anthea seemed to take her sister's threat seriously, as she said nothing, and simply rested her head on N's shoulder again. N sighed, as he decided he should just ignore both of his sisters for now, and watch the battle in silence.

_Back on the battlefield..._

"Emboar, go!" said Black, sending out his next Pokemon.

Emboar was a tall, bi-pedal, pig-like Pokemon, with bulging muscles, black eyebrows, and flame shooting from his shoulders.

"Emboar, use Heat Crash!"

"Raichu, protect."

Emboar jumped high in the air, then, with his body engulfed in flames, slammed down on Raichu, but Raichu was unharmed, as she managed to put up an invisible barrier to protect her from the hit in time.

"Raichu, Brick Break, please."

"Emboar, Arm Thrust!"

Raichu swung her tail at the wall that Musharna had previously set up, shattering it to pieces. As soon as Raichu turned around to face Emboar, Emboar was already thrusting his arms wildly at her, landing hard hits with his massive hands, until the fifth hit knocked the wind out of her, causing her to fall to the ground, unmoving.

"Now Emboar, Hammer Arm!"

Emboar then slammed his large arm down on Raichu, as if his arm were a hammer, knocking Raichu out cold.

Raichu is unable to battle, Emboar wins!"

"Raichu has been defeated! I guess we won't be seeing another Raichu sweep today!" said Alder.

Marie returned Raichu to her Pokeball, then twirled as she slid another Pokeball out of her sleeve, sending out Blaziken.

"Emboar, Arm Thrust!"

"Blaziken, Protect."

Emboar tried thrusting his massive hands at Blaziken, but Blaziken protected herself with an invisible barrier. Blaziken seemed to be glowing for a short moment, then returned to normal.

"Emboar, Flare Blitz!"

"Blaziken, Brave Bird."

Emboar, his whole body engulfed in flames, rushed towards Blaziken, but Blaziken jumped high in the air avoiding the attack, then quickly dashed down towards Emboar, slamming into him. The impact was so huge, Emboar barely got back on his feet.

"Emboar, come on, Hammer Arm!"

"Blaziken, High Jump Kick."

Emboar struggled for a few moments, then tried to slam his large arm down on Blaziken, but once again, Blaziken dodged by jumping up high in the air, and this time, came down at full force, kicking Emboar in the head, which knocked Emboar out.

"Emboar is unable to battle, Blaziken wins!" exclaimed the referee.

"Braviary!" said Black, frustrated, as he sent out his final Pokemon.

Braviary was a large bird, with red feathers on it's back, and black feathers on it's chest, stomach, and legs.

"Blaziken, Flare Blitz"

"Braviary, Sky Drop!"

Blaziken slammed into Braviary, with her body engulfed in flames. Braviary endured the hit as best as he could, then grabbed Blaziken with his talons, and flew high up in the air, and dropped Blaziken, letting her fall all the way down to the floor.

"Now Braviary, Brave Bird!"

"Blaziken, High Jump Kick."

Braviary began flying towards Blaziken as fast as he could, but as he got closer, Blaziken stood back up, then jumped high into the air in front of Braviary, and kicked the back of his head, which sent an unconscious Braviary crashing down to the ground.

"Braviary is unable to battle, and Black has no more Pokemon. Marie wins!" exclaimed the referee.

Black, frustrated and humiliated that he lost after all his boasting, returned his Pokemon to it's Pokeball, then quickly ran out of the building.

Marie giggled, as she walked back backstage. When she was backstage, she smiled at N.

"Thanks for cheering me on, N." she said with a wink.

Anthea glared at Marie, gritting her teeth, then got up. N had no idea what his sister planned on doing, but it was clear she was going to confront Marie, so he grabbed her by her shoulders, holding her back. Anthea looked shocked at first, then sat back down, and rested her head on N's shoulder again, while grinning at Marie, thinking she was making her jealous.

Alder then began to announce the next battle.

"It's time for the final battle of round two: White vs Olivia! After this, we'll know who all the semi finalists are!" he said.

_To be continued..._


	34. Chapter 34: Juniour Cup pt 6

"All right everybody, it's time for the semi-finals to begin! Our semi-finalists are White, Concordia, N, and Marie! Who will our finalists be? We'll find out soon! Right now, it's time for the first battle of the semi-finals, and that will be Concordia vs Marie!" exclaimed Alder.

Marie smiled at Concordia, and walked over to her.

"If you win, I'll give your brother's skateboard back." she said, with breath that felt as cold as ice. She then walked out to the arena.

"I would've got your skateboard back for you after I win even if she hadn't offered." said Concordia, as she stood up, and was about to walk out to the arena.

"Wait, Concordia!" said N, placing his hand on her shoulder.

Concordia took by surprise, turned around to face him.

"What is it, N?" she asked.

"Concordia...you know as well as I do that there is a very small chance you'll beat her. Remember in Nacrene City? The three of us couldn't even land a single hit on her! Not to mention that she has more Pokemon than you!" N said, in a very fast pace, which made it hard to make out everything he was saying.

"N, if you're trying to talk me out of the battle, the answer is no." replied Concordia, taking his hand off her shoulder.

"No, that's not it...I want Archeops to battle with you, to give you a better chance, as long as he's okay with it." said N, turning his gaze to Archeops, who nodded and flew next to Concordia.

"Do your best." N said, returning to his seat.

"Thanks, N." she said, then proceeded to return walking out to the arena.

"_He's counting on me, I can't let him down...and I won't_." she thought.

When she entered the arena, Marie pointed at her.

"_They say she appeared in a doorway, playing cards at her sides._" sang Marie, pulling her out her deck of playing cards, and holding them to her sides.

"_The fate that she would defy..._

_A Concordia is coming to die!_"

This caused Concordia to stop moving for a moment, her feet feeling glued to the floor, but she pulled herself together and continued walking towards the battlefield.

"_Wait now, there's too much at stake now_

_There she goes..._

_she looked to the distance and cried_

_The girl in white has arrived!_"

"_Quick on the draw_

_In this town, I am the law._

_Is what they say true?_

_is this my doom?_

_Can she fall?_"

Concordia was now on the battlefield, trying to ignore Marie's singing, wishing it would stop, but the singing continued.

"_It was then_

_That the crowd saw Marie, and_

_she knew that she couldn't tell them_

_she was the quickest of all..._

_Would this be the day that she falls?_"

"_Wait now, there's too much at stake now_

_A cold wind blows..._

_she looked at the crowd and she cried_

_"The moment of truth has arrived_!"

Marie then threw her microphone, and, much to everyones surprise, Concordia picked it up, and began singing herself.

"_My pulse slows_

_I'm not scared anymore_

_I see the faces of my friends that have fallen before"_

She stared at the floor, and clenched her fists.

"_My heart slows_

_I'm not scared anymore_

_I call out my friends and in turn you're calling for yours"_

She glanced over at Whismicott, who then stood in front of her, ready for battle.

"_My pulse slows_

_What they said is a lie_

_The shots are heard and the bullets scream death as they fly"_

She looked up, staring Marie in the eye, and narrowing her eyebrows at her.

"_My heart slows_

_I'm not scared anymore_

_This is the moment that we have been waiting for"_

She took a few steps forward.

"_My pulse slows _

_your moment has come_

_Your speed means nothing if it's me that you're running from"_

"_My heart slows_

_I'm not scared anymore_

_you're joining the ranks of my enemies that have fallen before_"

_**Backstage...**_

White tried to focus on the battle, but knowing that she would be against N next, it was impossible to think about anything else. She looked over in his direction, and saw Tepig sitting in his lap, which caused the words N said to her before to suddenly start echoing in her head.

"_Not listening to your Pokemon's voice is a sin..._

"_I'll beat the Champion, I'll become unbeatable like any other..._

"_If your conviction is not strong enough, you will never defeat me..._"

N watched the battle between Concordia and Marie, with concern, and was surprised when he heard Concordia singing.

"_First Anthea was singing, and now Concordia...what's going on?_" he thought.

_**Back on the battlefield**_

Marie has already sent out Blaziken to start off her battle with Concordia, who has also already sent Whimsicott to battle.

"Blaziken, Flare Blitz, please."

"Whimsicott, Substitute."

Blaziken charged towards Whimsicott at full speed, with her body covered in flames, but Whimsicott made her substitute far before Blaziken got to her, which protected her from the hit.

"Blaziken, Brave Bird."

"Whimsicott, Stun Spore."

Whimsicott scattered paralyzing powder on Blaziken, but, seemingly unaffected, Blaziken jumped high in the air, with a blue glow around her body, then slammed down on Whismicott, defeating her in one shot.

"Whismicott is unable to battle, Blaziken wins!" said the referee.

Concordia still seemed determined, regardless of Whimsicott being beat without doing any damage.

"Archeops." she said, and Archeops flew in front of her.

"Blaziken, High Jump Kick."

"Archeops, Acrobatics."

Blaziken tried to jump up in the air, but thanks to Whimsicot'ts Stun Spore, Blaziken couldn't move. Archeops took advantage of this opportunity by flying circles around Blaziken, making her dizzy, then slashed the back of her neck with his sharp talons, making her shriek in pain.

"Archeops, finish it. Sky Attack!"

Archeops flew high up into the air, then, with his body shining brightly, tucked in his wings, and began flying down towards Blaziken at high speed. Blaziken tried to get away, but still couldn't move due to Stun Spore, which let Archeops crash down on her, with great force. Blaziken was knocked several feet back, and crashed into the wall, unconscious.

"Blaziken is unable to battle, Archeops wins!" said the referee.

"Blaziken, return." said Marie, returning Blaziken to her Pokeball. "Go, Raichu." she said, sending out Raichu.

"Archeops, Heat Wave."

"Raichu, Protect."

Archeops began rapidly and violently flapping wings, which sent fiery hot wind blowing towards Raichu, but Raichu protected herself with an invisible barrier.

"Raichu, Volt Tackle."

"Archeops, dodge it with Sky Attack!"

Raichu got an all fours, and, with her body covered in electricity, began rushing towards Archeops. Before Raichu could get close enough to hit, Archeops flew high into the air, which forced Raichu to halt to a stop. Archeops then started quickly flying down towards Raichu.

"Raichu, Protect."

Raichu put up an invisible barrier just in time, which protected her from Archeop's attack.

"Raichu, Volt Tackle."

"Archeops, dodge, and use Rock Head!"

Raichu leapt in the air at Archeops, with her body covered in electricity, but Archeops swiftly flew out of the way, causing Raichu to crash into the ground. Archeops wasted no time; he quickly flew down towards Raichu, and smashed his rock-hard head onto Raichu's, which gave Raichu a concussion, and knocked her out.

"Raichu is unable to battle, Archeops wins!" exclaimed the referee.

_Backstage..._

N and Anthea both looked surprised and hopeful at how well their sister was doing in this battle.

"She actually beat two Pokemon in a row..." said Anthea, in a low voice.

"And Archeops hasn't been hit yet either. Concordia has two Pokemon left, and Marie only has one...she can actually win this." said N, with his hands clasped together.

_Back on the battlefield..._

Marie has just sent out Weavile as next and final to face Archeops.

"Weavile, Fake Out."

"Archeops-..."

Before Concordia could finish giving Archeops a command, Weavile moved behind Archeops so fast, it looked as if she teleported. She then slashed at Archeops's back with her sharp claws, which knocked him down.

"Archeops, get up and use Heat Wave!"

"Weavile, Night Slash."

Archeops flew back into the air, then started rapidly flapping his wings, blowing fiery hot wind towards Weavile, which Weavile managed to dodge, then leapt into the air, and slashed at the back of Archeop's neck, which made him fall out of the air again.

Archeops struggled for a few moments, then managed to get back up, but instead of being ready to continue fighting, he looked frightened, and started trying to get away.

"Archeops, use Rock Head!" shouted Concordia.

"Weavile, Ice Punch."

Instead of listening to Concordia, Archeops tried to get back in the air and fly away, but Weavile got to him before he could start flying, and punched him in the face, with her fist covered in ice, which knocked him out.

"Archeops is unable to battle, Weavile wins!" said the referee.

"Gardevoir." said Concordia.

Gardevoir stood in front of her on the battlefield, ready for battle.

"Weavile, Night Slash."

"Gardevoir, Double Team."

Weavile tried to slash at Gardevoir, but Gardevoir created a dozen fake copies of herself, which took the hit for her.

"Gardevoir, Magical Leaf."

Gardevoir sent several razor sharp leaves flying towards Weavile, which Weavile tried to avoid, but they followed her, and each leaf hit her hard, cutting into her skin, and making her bleed.

"Weavile, Night Slash."

"Gardevoir, Teleport."

Weavile ran towards Gardevoir at high speed, with her claws extended, but Gardevoir teleported several feet behind her, which forced Weavile to stop her attack.

"Gardevoir, now, Magical Leaf!"

"Night Slash, Weavile."

Gardevoir sent more sharp leaves at Weavile, but this time, Weavile ran right through them, despite the pain, then slashed her sharp claws at Gardevoir so hard, Gardevoir fell down, defeated.

"Gardevoir is unable to battle, and Concordia has no more Pokemon, so Marie wins!" exclaimed the referee.

Concordia, surprisingly, still seemed determined, even after her loss. She picked the microphone back up, and started singing again.

"_You're too quick on the draw..._

_forget this town, there is no law_

_but what they say isn't true_

_I'll still defeat you._

_she will fall..._"

A short while after this, Concordia was backstage again, and took her seat next to N.

"N, I'm sorry..." she said

"Don't be." interrupted N.

"But, I-"

"You may not have won, but you did the best you could, and I won't let your effort go to waste. I'll take the effort you put in with me, along with my own effort, and the feelings of the Pokemon, and there will be no way someone like her can defeat someone like me." said N, confidently.

Just then, Alder began to announce the next battle.

"It's time for the final match of the semi-finals: N vs White! Who will win and move on to face Marie in the final round? We'll soon find out!" he said.

To be continued...


	35. Chapter 35: Junior Cup pt 5: N vs White

It's time for the final battle in the semi-finals of the Junior Cup: N vs White. White has already gone out to the arena, but N still sat in his seat, staring at the floor.

"N, is something wrong?" asked Concordia.

"They're going to disqualify you if you're not out there in five minutes, N." said Anthea.

N kept his gaze at the floor, his heart pounding rapidly, and not saying a word.

"Are you...nervous, N?" asked Concordia.

"_Come on, N, we can beat her, I know we can!_" said Victini, who was flying around N's head.

N shook his head, and looked up.

"No, it's not that. Victory against her is already assured. It's...I don't know, and you guys won't understand either." he said.

"_Then let's go show 'em who's boss around here!_" said Victini.

Zorua hopped off of N's shoulder, and onto the floor.

"_Yeah, N, let's do this! That foolish girl doesn't know just what she's up against!_" he said, with a confident growl.

N then stood up.

"Yeah..." he said, then rushed out the arena.

When N went out to the arena, and saw White standing on the battlefield, his heart started rapidly pounding again, his insides felt unusually warm, and his legs felt like they weighed a ton, as he walked to the battlefield.

"_What's wrong with my body? Am I suddenly catching a fever? Why now of all times?_" he thought.

When he was on the battlefield, he tried to look White in the eye, but his gaze could only focus on the floor.

"_Come to think of it, I felt something similar to this the day I met her, but...it wasn't this bad. Could this feeling be connected to her?_" he thought.

N's thoughts were interrupted by White sending out her first Pokemon.

"Scolipede!" she said, sending Scolipede out of his Pokeball.

"White..." N said, but got no response from her.

_Backstage..._

"N sure has been acting strange lately." said Anthea, crossing her legs.

Concordia stared at her sister, as if she couldn't believe what she just heard.

"Uh, no, _you're _the one who's been acting strange lately." she said.

"Me, strange?" said Anthea, who was suddenly on her hands and knees, leaning in close to Concordia. "When have I ever acted strange?" she asked.

"I don't know, maybe...right now?!" said Concordia, backing up.

_Back on the battlefield..._

N has picked Archeops as his first Pokemon.

"Archeops Acrobatics."

"Scolipede, Steam Roller!"

Scolipede curled up into a ball and began rolling towards Archeops, but Archeops started flying around Scolipede, leaving him rolling in circles, trying to hit Archeops, until he finally got dizzy, and slowed down. Archeops took advantage of the opportunity by striking Scolipede in the back, with his sharp talons.

"Archeops, Sky Attack!"

"Scolipede, Poison Tail!"

Archeops fly high up in the air, then, with his body glowing brightly, tucked in his wings, and flew down towards Scolipede at high speed. Scolipede was prepared for this; right when Archeops was close enough, Scolipede spun around, and slapped Archeops in the face, with his poisonous tail, which knocked Archeops right out of the air.

"Archeops, Head Smash!"

"Scolipede, Megahorn!"

Archeops began flying towards Scolipede, ready to smash his head into Scolipede's, and Scolipede began rushing towards Archeops, with his horns extended. Both Pokemon collided into each other; Archeops pushing Scolipede back, using his rock-hard head, and Scolipede pushing Archeops back, using his huge, powerful horns.

Archeops managed to push Scolipede back, until his back was pressed against the wall, but then Scolipede pushed Archeops all the way back to the center of the battlefield, back where they started. It was a stalemate, neither Pokemon could knock the other down.

"Archeops, stop, and use Heat Wave!"

"Scolipede, dodge, with Dig!"

Archeops stopped trying to knock Scolipede down, and flew into the air, then began rapidly flapping his wings, until fiery hot air was blown towards Scolipede. Scolipede dodged this by digging a whole into the ground, and hiding in it.

"Archeops, go in the hole and find him!"

"Scolipede, come out, and use Megahorn!"

Archeops landed on the ground next to the hole, and as soon as he looked in, Scolipede popped out, and rammed his horn against Archeops, knocking him down several feet back.

"Scolipede, another Megahorn!"

"Archeops, dodge and use Head Smash!"

Scolipede rushed towards Archeops, with his horns extended, but Archeops flew behind him, which forced Scolipede to try to halt his attack, but he couldn't do it in time, and ended up crashing into the wall. Archeops then flew over to Scolipede, and smashed his head into his back, which knocked Scolipede out, while also hurting Archeop's head.

"Scolipede is unable to battle, Archeops wins!" said the referee.

Seeing Scolipede beaten by Archeops again made N's words echo in White's head again.

"_If your conviction is not strong enough, you will __**never**__ defeat me._

_I'll defeat the champion and become unbeatable, unlike any other_

_Just try to stop me!_"

White silently returned Scolipede to his Pokeball, then sent out Darmanitan as her next Pokemon.

Archeops seemed intimidated by the presence of Darmanitan, and suddenly started flying away.

"Archeops, is something wrong?" asked N.

"_I can't do it, N! I can't do it!_" cried Archeops.

"Alright, I understand." replied N. "Archeops, switch out, you've done enough. Zorua will take your place.

Archeops thanked N, and flew off the battlefield, and Zorua hopped onto the battlefield in front of N, ready to battle Darmanitan.

"N has switched out Archeops for Zorua, so Archeops now may no longer fight in this battle! Both trainers now have two Pokemon left!" said the referee.

"Oh, this is interesting. First time anybody ever switched out their Pokemon, knowing it wouldn't be able to come back in during the battle." said Alder.

"_Does he really care that deeply about his Pokemon...? How can a guy like him be the leader of a criminal organization that steals Pokemon? It just doesn't make sense..._" thought White.

"White!" said N, in a loud, clear voice.

N stood there, his cloak, and his long hair both blowing gracefully in the wind, and his mouth opening and closing, as if he were struggling to say something.

"_I can do this..._" he told himself.

"White, you have tried to stop Team Plasma on multiple occasions, correct?" he asked

"Yes." she replied.

"So you've put yourself in war with us. But what exactly are you fighting for?" asked N.

"W-what am I fighting for...?" asked White.

"Me and Team Plasma are all fighting for what's right for the Pokemon. We want them to be free from the abuse of humans. You've put yourself in war against us, so that must mean you're fighting for something different. Do you not want Pokemon to be free from abuse? Before you start a war, you better know what you're fighting for, White!" said N, in his fast-paced speech, which made it hard to fully make out everything he said.

"Now, hold on! You may not be as bad as the rest of Team Plasma, but you're all still a bunch of hypocrites! You battle with Pokemon, just like everybody else, and then you go around lecturing people about how bad battling is, even though you're doing the exact same thing!" said White.

"No, White, it's not the same thing at all. It hurts me deeply that I have to make Pokemon battle, but I don't have any other choice. My words alone can not change the world, as much as I wish they could. Sometimes you just have no other choice but to fight! Sometimes you've just got to sin to win!" replied N.

White seemed to have nothing left to say, as she stopped arguing with N, and focused on the battle instead.

"Darmanitan, use Fire Punch!"

"Zorua, use Leer!"

Darmanitan rushed over to Zorua, and was about to swing his fist, covered in fire at Zorua, but Zorua glared intimidatingly at him, with his sharp eyes. Darmanitan seemed startled by this, took a few steps back, and canceled his attack.

"Zorua, now, Fury Swipes!"

Zorua leapt at Darmanitan while he was startled, and began slashing his claws furiously at Darmanitan's face.

"Zorua, Faint Attack!"

"Darmanitan, Flare Blitz!"

Zorua disarmingly approached Darmanitan, but before he could attack, Darmanitan slammed his flame-covered body against Zorua's, which hit with such force, it sent Zorua's tiny body flying through the arena, and slammed through a wall, which left a huge hole in the wall.

"Zorua!" cried N.

"Darmanitan, finish him with one more Flare Blitz!"

"Zorua, get out of there!"

Darmanitan began rushing towards Zorua at full speed, his body still covered in flames. While Darmanitan was charging, Zorua struggled, but managed to get back on his feet. Instead of trying to dodge, he stood there, waiting for Darmanitan to get closer.

"_Darmanitan may be stronger than me...but I... I won't give in. I'll never give in to those stronger me!_"

Zorua created a black, transparent, ghostly Darmanitan illusion, which surrounded his body, then charged at Darmanitan, his body also covered in flames, and both Pokemon collided into each other. They both fell down, unconscious.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle!" said the referee.

"Zorua...you learned a new move?" said N, picking Zorua up, and carrying him off the battlefield.

"Darmanitan...return." said White, returning Darmanitan to his Pokeball. "Servine, go!" she said, sending out Servine.

"_Servine...that's the Servine that was traveling with me, but decided to go with her instead._" thought N.

Tepig climbed onto the battlefield as soon as she saw Servine.

"_You're the one that abandoned her._" hissed Servine.

"_And you're the one that chose to be locked up in a Pokeball when you had the chance to live free._" replied Tepig.

"_You told White you love her before. How can you say you love her, if you're just going to turn your back on her in the end?_" asked Servine.

"_It's true, I do love her. She took care of me when I didn't have a home, and she treated me nicely, but not all Pokemon are treated nicely like that!_" said Tepig.

"They're talking to each other, you know." said N, looking at White, who clearly didn't understand what the Pokemon were saying.

"I bet you want to know what they both are saying about you." he said.

"What? What are they saying?!" asked White.

N frowned at her.

"Why don't you listen to their voices and you tell me." he said, in a surprisingly cold, dark voice.

"_Servine, remember when N saved us from Professor Juniper's lab? We were both locked up in Pokeballs, afraid, and unsure what was going to happen next. There are other Pokemon treated like this, some even worse!_" exclaimed Tepig.

"_I do not dislike N, but I don't agree with his ways either. I only stayed with him because I had nowhere else to go. When I saw how abandoned White was after you left her, I couldn't just leave her on her own. Nobody deserves to be abandoned, human or Pokemon._" said Servine.

White, tired of knowing the Pokemon were talking about each other and not knowing what they were saying, decided it was time to start the battle.

"Servine, use Attract!"

"Tepig, Ember!"

Servine blew a dozen hearts towards Tepig, but Tepig blew sparks of flames at the hearts, burning them to ashes.

"Tepig, Flame Charge!"

"Servine, dodge and use Slam!"

Tepig, with her body surrounded in flames, charged at Servine, but Servine swiftly slithered to the side, then wrapped his long tail around Tepig's small body, and began repeatedly slamming her down on the ground.

"Servine, Leaf Tornado!"

"Tepig, run!"

Servine dropped Tepig on the ground, then spun around, creating a tornado made of leaves, and sent it spiraling towards Tepig, who tried to get away, but wasn't fast enough. The tornado spun Tepig around inside for several moments, until it finally spit her out, leaving her dizzy, and cut from the leaves.

"Servine, Leaf Tornado again!"

"Tepig!" cried N.

Servine sent another tornado of leaves spiraling towards Tepig, which once again spun Tepig around inside, then spit her out, leaving her even dizzier, and cut more, this time bleeding.

"Servine, Slam!"

"Tepig, come on, dodge it!"

Servine slithered over to Tepig, about to try to slam her around again, but before he could get to her, her body began glowing brightly and changing shape.

"Tepig...you're evolving!" said N.

Tepig was now a Pignite, which made her taller, bipedal, and had stubby arms and legs, and dark red fur on her body, which looked like it formed a leotard.

"Pignite, Arm Thrust!"

Pignite began thrusting her arms against Servine several times, until Servine was knocked down.

"Now, Pignite, Heat Crash!"

"Servine, Leaf Tornado!"

Pignite, with her body covered in flame, jumped in the air, and tried to slam her body down on Servine, but Servine quickly created a tornado of leaves, which caught Pignite, giving Servine a chance to slither out of the way. The tornado didn't keep Pignite up for long; the fire around her body burned the tornado down.

"Servine, Attract!"

"Pignite, Arm Thrust!"

Servine blew a dozen hearts towards Pignite, but Pignite shattered them all.

"Now Pignite, Flamethrower!"

"Servine, dodge!"

Pignite blew an intense flame out of her nose at Servine, which Servine tried to dodge, but wasn't quick enough. Servine was burned by the attack, and fell down defeated.

"Servine is unable to battle, Pignite and N win!" said the referee.

"After an intense, very close-matched battle, we finally have our finalists! The final battle will be N vs Marie, and that will take place in one hour!" said Alder.

"Like I said, White; if your conviction is not strong enough, you will never defeat me." said N, as he walked out of the arena.

_To be continued..._


	36. Chapter 36: Zorua's Dream

_It was a dark, cold, windy night in the forest. Zorua was running as fast as his little body could take him, as he was being chased and attacked by a man he had never seen before. Zorua kept running as fast as he could, breathing heavily, until he crashed into a big rock, due to not looking where he was going, and his pursuer finally caught up to him._

"_Now I've got you, you damn Pokemon!" _

_The man picked Zorua up by the fur on his back, then threw him against the bark of a tree._

"_Aah!" cried Zorua in pain. "Why...why do humans treat me like this? Is it just because I'm a Pokemon?" he thought, with a tear rolling down his cheek._

_The man began running towards Zorua again, to continue attacking him, but before he could reach Zorua, a slender, bipedal, human sized, fox-like Pokemon that looked a lot like Zorua, and long red hair that went down to it's feet appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The Pokemon stood tall in front of Zorua, then, in the blink of an eye, was in front of Zorua's attacker, and slashed her claws into his face, knocking him down._

"_Mama!" said Zorua, relieved to see his mother._

"_Zorua, run!" said his mother._

"_But mama...!" cried Zorua, not wanting to leave his mother._

_The man then stood back up, angrily._

"_You stupid Zoroark! I'll teach you a lesson! Go, Tornadus!" he said, sending a Tornadus out of it's Pokeball._

_The presence of Tornadus created huge, harsh winds, which made it hard to remain standing, and hard to breathe. The wind was so harsh, it knocked many thick branches out of huge trees, and nearly knocked over many trees, while knocking down smaller ones._

"_Zorua, I said get out of here!" shouted Zoroark._

_Zorua was scared out of his mind, and knew he wasn't strong enough to help his mother fight, so he did what she said, and began running away._

"_Tornadus, take her down with Hurricane!" commanded the man._

_Tornadus created a hurricane, and sent it spiraling towards Zoroark, but before it could hit her, she became surrounded in crimson energy, then channeled it to her arms, which she slammed into the ground, creating a red dome of destructive energy. Her attack was so powerful, it knocked down every single tree in sight, knocked, Tornadus right out of the air, and sent the man flying through the air._

_Before the dome of energy fully disappeared, Zoroark quickly rushed over to Tornadus, with her sharp claws extended, and slashed into Tornadus's neck, severely cutting it, and causing him to bleed rapidly._

"_You damned Pokemon! I'll take care of you myself!" shouted the man._

_He pulled out a rifle, and pointed it right at Zoroark's chest._

_Zorua, who was still trying to run as far away as possible, could hear each shot being fired at his mother, and he could hear her screaming._

"_Mama!" cried Zorua, and quickly began running back to find his mother._

_When Zorua returned to where his mother was, he found her lying there, unconscious, and blood all over her body._

"_No, mama!" cried Zorua, nuzzling his head on her dead body._

"_You were a fool to come back here!" said the man, now pointing his rifle at Zorua._

"_Hydreigon, Fire Blast." said a distant voice._

_A Hydreigon then flew close to the man and Zorua, and blasted the man with a huge blast of fire, which knocked him far out of sight. Ghetsis then appeared out of the shadows, walking over to Zorua._

"_I was saved by a human...?" thought Zorua, puzzled._

_Ghetsis picked Zorua up, then got on Hydreigon's back, and Hydreigon then flew off._

"_You're coming home with me." said Ghetsis._

"AAH!" screamed Zorua, now awake.

"Zorua?! What's wrong?" asked N.

Zorua looked around, and saw that he was in N's lap, and still in the backstage of the arena.

"_I must have fell asleep..._" thought Zorua. "_But why am I suddenly remembering that now?_"

"Zorua, are you okay?" asked N, petting Zorua.

"_Yeah, I'm fine...I just had a bad dream, that's all._" replied Zorua.

"All right everybody, it's time for the moment we've all been waiting for! The Junior Cup Finals! N vs Marie! Both are very powerful trainers, but only one can win! Who will it be? We'll find out now!" exclaimed Alder.

"Go easy on me, please, N." said Marie, with a wink, then she went out to the arena.

"She'll need me to go easy on her in order for her to stand a slim chance, she knows that." said N confidently, and then walked out the arena.

When he was out in the arena, the crowd started booing him loudly, some even throwing objects towards him, and shouting bad things about Team Plasma.

"_These people are just dense minded humans. They are the ones causing the problems, I shouldn't let what they think of me bother me. But if I can't change the way everybody in the world thinks, can I really change the world? What this world needs is a hero..._" thought N.

Marie suddenly threw a microphone in N's direction, and, as if he were expecting it, he caught it in his hand, and began singing.

"_I'm just a step away_

_I'm just a breath away_

_Losin' my faith today_

_Falling from the edge today_

He continued walking to the battlefield as he sang, but the crowd apparently didn't hear them, since they continued their booing.

_I am just a man_

_Not superhuman_

_I'm not superhuman_

_Someone save me from the hate!_"

He was now on the battlefield, but still being loudly booed by the audience, so he shouted at the top of his lungs to get their attention.

"_SOMEONE SAVE ME FROM THE HATE!_"

There was a short moment of silence, until Marie then began singing as well.

"_It's just another war_

_Just another family torn_

_Falling from my faith today_

_Just a step from the edge_

_Just another day in the world we live_

_Just another family torn!"_

She pointed at N, making it clear she meant his family.

N quickly cut her off.

"_I'll be the hero to save you now_

_I'll be the hero to save them now_

_I'll be the hero to save your lives_

_I will save you just in time!_"

This time, he was cut off by Marie.

"_I've got to fight today_

_To live another day_

_Speaking my mind today_

_My voice will be heard today!_"

N cut her off again.

"_NO!_

_I've got to make a stand_

_But I am just a man_

_Not superhuman_

_I'm not superhuman!_

_MY VOICE WILL BE HEARD TODAY!_"

Marie cut back in again.

"_It's just another war_

_Just another family torn_

_My voice will be heard today_

_If we obey your will_

_The countdown begins to destroy ourselves!_"

Once again, N cut in.

"_Who's gonna fight for what's right?_

_Who's gonna help them survive?_

_We're in the fight of our lives!_

_And they're not ready to die_"

"_I'm gonna make 'em believe!_

_I must be the hero!_

_I will be that hero!_

_I've got a hero living in me!_

_BELIEVE IN ME!_"

He seemed to be finished this time, and Marie started again.

"_Today I'm speaking my mind_

_And if it kills me tonight_

_I will be ready to die!"_

N continued again.

"_A hero's not afraid to give his life!_

_I will save them just in time!_

"_Who's going to fight for what's right?_

_Who's going to help them survive?_

_They need a hero_

_Who's going to fight for the weak?_

_Who's going to make 'em believe?_

_They need a hero!_

YOU_ need a hero!_"

N and Marie both sang the final line at the same time.

"_A hero's going to save them just in time!_"

_**Backstage...**_

"You still think that _I'm _acting strange, and _he _isn't?" asked Anthea.

"You _are _the one acting strange. N will be the hero, that's his destiny and he knows that." replied Concordia.

"So you're saying that N singing doesn't take you by surprise, at all?" asked Anthea.

"I'll admit that's quite a surprise, but what really surprises me is that Marie girl acting like she's doing something _right." _said Concordia.

"I bet they're just playing the part. That's so cliche, I could do so much better than her." replied Anthea, crossing her arms.

"What the hell are you talking about...?" asked Concordia, staring at her sister, puzzled.

_Back on the battlefield..._

"You can't really expect to beat me with such weak Pokemon, can you?" asked Marie, mockingly.

"You can't expect to defeat me with such a weak heart, can you?" asked N, in the same mocking manner.

"Is this really coming from the king of Pokemon abusing thieves?" replied Marie.

"Is this really coming from the girl who literally kicked a defenseless Pokemon, with her own foot, and used a Pokemon to steal a skateboard?' replied N.

"I forgot that it's okay to let all of your loyal subjects run about, stealing people's Pokemon, but hey, as long as you're the king right? Let's not forget that dream of yours, to steal everyones 'friends' away from them, snatching their beloved friends from their arms."

"Friends...if only that were the case. People do not look at their Pokemon as friends, just mere tools to serve their own selfish desires. I can't just sit around and do nothing, knowing my friends are being treated like this. But you wouldn't understand, you're just another clueless human."

"Really, N? You think everybody in the world mistreats their Pokemon, N?"

"Humans are all just humans. I've been traveling on my journey long enough to know that you all think Pokemon exist to serve them. Everybody...except one person I've met has been like this, and that one person is _not_ you. Maybe every human in the world doesn't treat their Pokemon as bad as others, but you're all shutting them up in Pokeballs."

"If all people treated their Pokemon badly, don't you think they would run away?"

"If only they had that option. It isn't possible for them to get away when their trainer can just trap them back inside a Pokeball whenever they want."

"N, do you believe good always triumphs over evil?"

"Do you believe evil should triumph over good?"

"If I'm evil, then you should win this battle."

"Victory against you was assured before the day begun. You are nothing more than a stupid, foolish human that uses Pokemon for her own good, that just so happens to keep getting in my way. You are _nothing_ to me."

"That totally explains why I beat you every time."

"Do you really think I care about winning a Pokemon battle that has no gain from it? Do you really think I take pride in randomly having Pokemon hurt each other? Only a fool like you would.

"If you don't take pride in letting your Pokemon get hurt, then don't lose this battle! Show me your moves!" exclaimed Marie, sending Raichu out of her Pokeball.

"_V is for Victory!_" said Victini, flying onto the battlefield.

_To be continued..._


End file.
